Shortest Straw
by Napoleon Clocks
Summary: Edward Elric has decided that he has the worst goddamn luck in all of Amestris.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! I've decided to write a crossover, something I normally don't do. I only just got back into FMA not too long ago, actually. Hope you enjoy! And sorry if there are any mistakes; I don't have a beta and I'm rather horrible about finding my own mistakes.

I don't own either FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter One

Dumbledore had to admit that the last thing he expected was to have a twelve-year-old sitting in the chair across from him only four days after term ended. The headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry often prided himself in knowing most things before they happened, because his educated guesses were rarely ever wrong. So the current situation he found himself in came as more of a shock as it would for normal people, and that would be saying something. It also didn't help matters that it was a _child _was from Amestris whose apparently younger brother was sitting awkwardly downstairs, soul attached to a suit of armor.

"I told you, Mr. Elric," he said again, letting out a sigh and placing his elbows on his desk, fingers pressed together as they often were. "The Philosopher's Stone was destroyed a little less than a week ago."

"B-but all the information led us here," he said, staring down at his lap. "Do you have any information on it? My brother and I _need _that stone. This was out first solid lead."

"I understand, young man. It is the type of stone the many a man would kill for. The promise of turing from an ordinary person to a rich, almost immortal one is most tempting. But you're only twelve, I can't see why you would even know about it. You still haven't answered exactly what you want for it." He gave a weary little smile; they'd been sitting there for around half an hour, their conversation going in circles.

"Did you just say it was used to create immortality?" His head snapped up, facial expression changing drastically.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "And gold."

"Great." The blonde slumped back in his chair, disappointment written all over his face. "That's not even the right stone. And any skilled enough alchemist can make gold. It's illegal, but not that hard. _I've _even faked making gold before. It's incomplete." Dumbledore's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. Incomplete? That was a new one. "I should've guessed; it's pretty hard to break an actual Philosopher's Stone. A real one is used to break the Law of Equivalent Exchange."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Elric." He let out another small sigh. The chair across from him was pushed back and the boy stood up. "I just have one more question."

"What is it?" He turned around.

"Who exactly are you? As of now, I'm only aware of your name." At the moment, he didn't quite trust the boy--a twelve-year-old in the military was just absurd and the State Alchemist working for the school this year never mentioned it.

"Edward Elric," he answered, tone blunt. "The Fullmetal Alchemist, youngest to ever get into the military. You asked before why my brother and I were looking for the stone. I can't tell you. If you don't believe me, look it up." And with that he turned and left the office, the door closing behind him with a decisive click. For a moment, Dumbledore just sat there, still frozen in the same position. Then he took out a quill and parchment, wrote a letter, and set off to mail it.

And that was how he ended up collecting the Amestris newspaper.

***

Edward Elric now believed it to be official; someone up there sure as hell hated him. He, Mustang, Armstrong, and the rest of Roy's typical unit were all standing in a circle, a hat held out before them, straws hidden at the bottom. Whoever pulled the shortest one would have to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to teach the alchemy course. To the military, it was so easy that even non-alchemists could still go, as long as they followed the text book. Apparently Hughes had to go two years before Ed joined the army. And apparently he also hated it so much that he vowed never to go back. The decision went through different groups of military units, and this year the choice went to Ed's. No one wanted to go. Not only had they heard stories, but their country had just pulled out of a horrible civil war. And personally, Ed wasn't even sure why he was also given the unwilling option. Though he may be a brilliant alchemist and still the youngest there, he still technically didn't reach the age requirement for the school. He was only sixteen.

And he'd been there before, too. Going back wasn't exactly on his main priority list.

They all reached in at once, hands getting tangled in each other as they all tried to cheat and feel for the largest straw, which didn't end up working. On the count of three, they all pulled out, holding the straws up against each other. Ed felt a horrible sinking feeling as he saw his result.

"What'd you know," Mustang said in his usual mocking tone. "The shorty pulled the shortest straw." Ed was took annoyed to even go into a yelling spree.

Not only would he be going away for ten months of utter torture, but he was also going alone. No Al. He would've even settled for Roy for company. He did _not _want to spend most of his year in a place were alchemy barely even existed. Oh, just damn it all.

"Well, you better start packing your bags and call you're brother, because you're leaving in two days, Fullmetal," said Havoc, laughing and quickly joined by everyone except Armstrong and Hawkeye, who were both sending him sympathetic glances. He barely noticed--all he could do was start and the little straw in his hand.

"Wait, but doesn't term or whatever it's called start on the first? It'll only be the twenty-fifth?" Oh no. Please don't tack on anymore days.

"Yeah, but you need to make up lesson plans and pick out text books and all that good stuff," said Breda, an absolutely evil smile on his face. _They _could laugh, because it would be Ed who would be suffering. Laughing at his pain--despicable.

"Shut up," he mumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. "What am I supposed to teach them anyway?"

Roy shrugged. "Equivalent Exchange, different arrays, reasons behind it, whatever the text book says. I don't know, Fullmetal, just pick something." Ed scowled. Was there any way around this?

"How old are the kids I'm teaching?" he asked. He hadn't been listening when they were told, assuming he wouldn't be included.

"Third year through seventh year," Hawkeye answered, reading off the list. "They're separated by years and class. You'll have a loaded schedule, Edward."

"But aren't some of them older than me?" he tried again.

"When has that every stopped you?" Mustang pointed out. Ed's hand tightened into a fist, crumpling the straw.

This was going to be one long year.


	2. Chapter 2

I got a good bit of feedback from you guys, so thanks, I appreciate it. Well, here's chapter two. Please enjoy! And once again, please try and ignore any spelling mistakes, though if they're truly horrible, please point them out. Oh, and there are Roy x Ed hints, but it's up to you decide if you think it's parental, friendship, relationship, whatever. The birthday and height I got off the official site.

I do not own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Two

After six excruciatingly uncomfortable train rides and a ferry, Ed found himself standing in a rather large room, surrounded by other teachers, only one of which was shorter than him. Flitwick, he believed his name was, and the man didn't even come up to his shoulder. And for one of the first times in his life, he felt uncomfortable around adults. The others, much like himself, hadn't known who was coming. They were probably expecting the man who appeared on their doorstep to be older and, well, taller (though he only admitted that to himself and no one else). And though the attention was currently on another new teacher, he knew that any minute it would be on him. He pulled Roy's jacket closer around himself. By regulation, he had to come in his uniform and _teach in it_. He'd forgotten the jacket though (_Stupid, you're so goddamn stupid, _he thought)_, _which Mustang noticed at the last minute, throwing his own at him right before his train boarded. And he'd been planning to take it off the moment everyone saw the fact that yes, he did wear it, but it turned out to be too cold to do so. It almost went to his knees. He always lied when he said he was five five. At most, he was five two, something Winry liked to point out whenever they fought.

"Thank you, Horace," said Dumbledore, clapping politely. He looked exactly the same Edward remember. Talked the same way, too. "I speak for the whole staff when I'm delighted to have you with us again. I'm sure you will teach your students many useful and wonderful things." The other teachers nodded. "And now to introduce the new State Alchemist."

Ed awkwardly unfolded his arms and stood up, much the same as Slughorn had. "Hi," he said, words sticking in his throat. "I'm Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist. Nice to meet you." He sat back down quickly.

"Last time I saw you, you were only twelve," Dumbledore said. "You've grown quite a bit, now that it's been five years." He gave him a warm smile that Ed returned out of instinct. Someone said he grew.

"You're only seventeen?" someone said in surprise. Sprout was her name, something Sprout.

"Sixteen," he corrected. "I'll be seventeen on February third." And this was where the questions would start. Well, the old man would finally get that question answered.

"How are you teaching at such an age?" said McGonagall. Oh yeah, she hadn't believed him the last time she saw him.

"I became a State Alchemist at the age of twelve," he answered. "I've been in the military long enough for a job like this to be open to me." He shrugged. There was pause.

"You must be very skilled then," said someone else, voice like oil. He didn't like it. Severus Snape? That was his name, right? Maybe he should've paid more attention. Roy was always telling him to anyway.

"One of the best there is." It was true; no need to deny it, though part of it was arrogance talking.

"And for that we are all very thankful to have you with us," said Dumbledore, cutting off all other questions. Ed felt slightly grateful. It was better to just end them before they started accidently getting into subjects he'd rather not talk about. They all stood up. Over all, it was one of the quickest meetings he'd ever been to. Everyone seemed to need to prepare something in a sudden burst of hurried activity. Ed stood up as well. "And Edward, I would like to speak to you about what textbook we will be using. The owls go out tomorrow and the book must be on list." With a sigh, Ed followed.

"What book did the others use?" he asked. He hadn't exactly looked into that. And the book he used when he was younger was probably too advanced for people who grew up not knowing the Laws. Here people could just make things out of thin air. It wasn't right.

"There was one published two years ago, Edward. It's the new version." He pulled it off the shelf. _A Wizard's Guide to Alchemy, _it read, _by Bridgette Stevens. _Never heard of her. "Well, flip through it and see if it's satisfactory."

All he did was skim, really, but the information seemed accurate enough. It had all the most basic forms of arrays, before getting into slightly harder ones. It was just an information book, luckily, meaning that he'd probably only have to give demonstrations himself and not have to watch the kids have no idea what they were doing. One less annoyance. There were thirty-six chapters in all. Information, information, something about Amestris, infor--what?

_Chapter 35: Illegal Alchemy. _Subtext: Turing Lead to Gold. Next Subtext: Chimeras Without Supervision of the State. Final Subtext: Human Transmutation. Why would that be in there? He flipped onto the next chapter. _Chapter 36: Famous State Alchemists of Amestris. _Subtext: Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist (made sense). Subtext: Major Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist (oh how he hated that guy). Subtext:

"Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!" he half yelled, staring at the page in shock. Dumbledore chuckled. Ed lowered his voice slightly. "I knew I was well known in Amestris, but enough to get into a school textbook taught to wizards in _England_?" After him was Tucker and the Iron Blood Alchemist.

"Would you like to order another book?" Ed shook his head, still staring at the page as he held it at arms length. Probably the book before this was too outdated and he didn't have time to look for others. He felt oddly embarrassed.

"All the information is correct, except for Human Transmutation, but there's almost no one who get their hands on that subject. The only other inaccurate thing is that I'm not just a Major anymore and Mustang's not just a Colonel." Dumbledore nodded.

Some guy named Filch came and led him off to his room. It was big, and clean, and fine. Ed walked over to the bed and flopped down on it. Next thing he knew, the birds were chirping and pale sunlight was pouring through the window.

* * *

Harry sat at the breakfast table with Ron and Hermione, looking at the timetables they were given only moments before. He felt relieved. Potions was still on the list of subjects, meaning he still had the requirements to become an Aurour. But he didn't have Slughorn until tomorrow. Today he had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape (goddamn it), Charms, Transfiguration, and the class he had to be in sometime within the next ten minutes.

Alchemy.

"Why did you convince us to take this class with you again, Hermione?" Ron complained. "None of us even _need _the class. All it's doing is taking up free periods." They started heading off, Harry still chewing a piece of toast.

"Even if you weren't taking the class, you would need those free periods for studying, not relaxation," she said in her usual studying-is-everything voice. Harry smiled a little. "And I've been taking Alchemy since third year, and I always found it fun. I just didn't want to take it alone this time, that's all. Besides, you won't be that far behind. Since there's a new teacher every year, we also go over the basics again."

"And you find reviewing the same information every year _fun_?" Harry and Ron exchanged a look. Sometimes Hermione seemed a little insane. But before she could find something to retort with, they reached the classroom where she feel completely silent and ushered them into three seats next to each other. The teacher turned around, his name written above him on the chalkboard.

_Professor Elric, _it read.

"Welcome to sixth year Alchemy," he said, wiping the dust off his hands. All eyes were fixed on him. He looked different than most of the teachers around Hogwarts. Younger, much younger. He looked like he was probably their age, though even that was probably pushing it. That couldn't be right though, because by the time most teachers joined, they were around thirty or something he heard. But in all honesty there was really one word to describe him and that was _tiny. _It was something he normally wouldn't use, but it was true. Not only was he tiny height wise, but he was pretty tiny the other way too. Was this really the teacher? When he was introduced, it was hard to see exactly what he looked like because of the distance between the tables. "I'm Professor Edward Elric from Amestris. Unlike last year's teacher, I'm an actual State Alchemist and not just a military personal. Nice to meet you."

There was a moment of silence. Professor Elric picked up the attendance sheet. "Just call out 'here' when I say your name. I'll probably pronounce half of them wrong." The first name was said, a Slytherin.

"Here." The list continued.

"Hermione Granger."

"Here!" More names. Harry just waned to put his head down.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Here." More names. Harry's head went down. It was too early in the morning; he wanted to sleep.

"Parvati Patil." His head went up again. He was next, so he mine-as-well prepare to get another 'the Boy Who Lived' thing that he hated so much.

"Harry Potter."

"Here." And so the list continued. He felt amazed. Professor Elric's head didn't even look up from the paper.

"Ronald--I can't say you're last name."

"Here."

"And something Zanbini."

"Here."

"Good, so no one's absent." The teacher put the paper back on the desk and leaned back against the chalkboard. Some girl behind him whispered that he was cute. Harry felt disturbed. "Once you're in this room, forget that magic even exists. What I'm about to teach you here has Laws that must be followed or alchemy isn't possible. But don't worry; I won't make you do much. Just listen to everything I say, do all of the homework, and if I do a demonstration, just pay attention because there will be quite a bit of tests in this class. Take out your textbook and flip to the first chapter." There was flurry of books being pulled from bags and pages turning. Was this going to be another class where all they had to do was read? Like Umbridge's without the bitchy teacher added in? "Equivalent Exchange. That governs the eighty minutes of you life that you spend here every Monday and Thursday.

"Human kind cannot gain anything without giving up something in return. This is the basic principal of alchemy. Nothing just comes out of thin air. For example, you can change grass--" He took some grass out of his pocket and put it on his desk. "--into bread." There was a flash of what looked like blue lightning and what was once grass was now, like he said, a loaf of bread. Shocked silence followed. That wasn't magic? "But you can't change this bread or grass into another substance like soft sand or metal or water because the components don't match up. Alchemy is created by the world and how it works, what makes it turn. My brother and I began practicing when I was only five, and he was four, so we've had quite a bit of experience in the field. This is science, just pure science and manipulation of what allows life on this earth be the way it is. There's only one true way to break the Law of Equivalency, but we won't get into that this early into term. For your homework tonight, begin memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements. Any good alchemist can not only name them, but also sense them. Because of that we have the ability to sense how much material something has to the point that you can turn a human being into a bomb, change air into the deadliest fire, or create a sword out of metal while repeatedly changing that metal's properties. And all of this can be done with knowledge, a bit of talent, determination, and the thing that makes it all possible: a transmutation circle. You can't use it without one." He drew one on the board. "Before I start explaining this, any questions." Immediately, half the class' hands went up. He pointed to one of them.

"Were you really in the military?" they asked.

"I still _am_ in the military," he answered. "That's why I'm in uniform. Any actual questions regarding what I just said?" The hands stayed up, Harry's included. "You, Harry, or whatever you name is." Wow, so he really _didn't _know who he was.

"How did you do that without that circle?"

"I'd drawn it already before you came into the room." The answer came without even missing a beat. He shrugged and went to the next person. Harry raised himself in his seat slightly. There was no circle on the desk, just bread. The Professor lied. He sat back down.

Something wasn't right.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for all of the reviews/favorites/alerts! I really appreciate it. Which is nice, considering that I'm actually having a lot of fun writing this. =] Oh, and there a lot of different sections in this chapter, just as a forewarning. And in the last sections there's a bit of a monologue.

I do not own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Three

Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the classroom the moment it was over, heads stuffed with now confused brains (except for Hermione, of course). Why had they let her convince them into signing up for the course? It made no sense, having science in Hogwarts. It didn't even seem useful. No point, really.

"I would've loved to have had him last year," Ron said out of the blue. Harry looked over. "Can you image Umbridge inspecting his class?" Hermione laughed.

"I know I normally wouldn't insult a teacher, but he looks like he's thirteen! She'd be asking him where the teacher is!" This got the other two to laugh as well. The thought of the old Defense teacher's face if she found out he was the head of the class was hilarious. Anything involving Umbridge looking like she'd been slapped in the face was. "And if she read the back of the book...oh, I really wish he really _was _here last year. Professor Elric would've given her a run for her money."

"What do you mean, in the back of the book?" Harry asked. "Did you read ahead again?" She shook her head.

"We used this book last year as well, though we never got to finish it unfortunately, but he did show us the last chapter before exams." A smile twitched at her lips. Naturally. She was the only person in all of Hogwarts who could get excited over something written in a textbook. Hell, maybe even in the entire world.

"And what's in it?" Ron looked over expectantly. Hermione's smile grew.

"Either read it yourself you wait until we go over it in class. I may ask about it tomorrow, though."

"Oh, c'mon, just tell us."

"No, I'm not going to fuel your laziness, Ron. You have to learn academic things on your own, too, I hope you realize. I won't be there on the day of your job acceptance exam to whisper all the answers in your ear." After that the bickering they were so famous for began. Harry rubbed his temples. At least it was too early in the year still for the headaches they caused to start. It was almost enjoyable, really. It gave a sense of normalcy. And only Ron and Hermione could fight over a chapter. With that, he smiled.

* * *

Ed sighed. This first class wasn't so hard, but he needed to teach another three classes, one of which started in the next hour. He pulled a piece of paper of his desk and pen from his pocket. He didn't like the idea of using a feather and ink to write with. It was abnormal for this day an age. Pens and pencils were much more efficient. And luckily this didn't need to be written as a formal letter, since it had nothing to do with his job anyway. All it was doing was asking for a favor.

_Mustang--_

_Sorry about taking your jacket. Don't worry, I haven't ruined it. My own should still be in my apartment. If you can, do you think you could send it back? I'll send back yours, too, when I get my own. Why do I need to wear this everyday anyway? I didn't even do that at work. Whatever. Since I'm sending it back, I haven't transmuted it, so it'll still fit you fine (and no, I am NOT short; you're just abnormally tall). And sorry about the fact that I'm sending this using an owl of all things, but this is the only form of post they have. It's ridiculous. Tell everyone at the office I say hi and call my brother to tell him not to be freaked out when a bird brings him a letter. See you whenever I have the next chance to get back (hopefully). Save me._

_--Ed_

Well, that seemed good enough. He was never one to write pages and pages of something. He clicked the pen closed and slid it back into his pocket, heading off to the owlry, or whatever it was called. The large, lofty room smelled weird despite the openness. He chose a big brown owl, one that he hoped could carry the heavy military jacket. In a way, he didn't want to return the one he was wearing, because it was too big and covered more of his body, making him warmer. England wasn't just cold, but it was also damp. Horribly damp. And cold and damp didn't mix. The moisture suck all the way into the bones. Oh, and great, now it was raining. He sighed and walked over to the window, releasing the bird and looking outside.

The grounds of Hogwarts were huge, and he suspected that the amount of property was almost as big as his hometown. It was nice, in its own way, because nothing this rainy could be all _that _nice. With his head out the window and his nose no longer facing the bird-filled room, he was able to breath in fresh air, which smelled, naturally, of rain and dirt and something just natural about it that no city could ever achieve. There was a sudden stab of nostalgia. At least Al was back there, in his human body, playing with Den and helping out around the Rockbelle's house, remembering absolutely nothing and still stuck in the body of a nine-year-old. He'd been so confused when he realized everyone was so much older than him and he was being hugged and kissed and for some reason his brother just couldn't let go of him. The fact that he was back was enough to make Ed happy no matter what happened. Of course, it didn't correct anything that happened, but they'd completed what they said, and he really didn't mind that his arm and leg were still automail. It's all that much a nuisance, not really.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, lost in thought, but he was quickly aware that his class started soon. He ran back down, making it in only moments before the new trickles of students entered. They were third year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, which he decided he hated in the first ten minutes. At least in the class before this, the talking was kept to a minimum. Thirteen-year-olds couldn't keep their mouths shut, apparently. At least _he _wasn't this bad at this age. Wait...he wasn't even in school. He'd spent the majority of that year in the library. A lot of his life was around book, actually. He suddenly felt like a nerd. Oh well, it turned out to be worth it in the end.

* * *

All the kids filed into their desks in bursts of talking. It was Thursday, which meant that all he had to do was survive the rest of the day and tomorrow and he'd finished the first week of school. Then it was just two hundred and seventy-three days until he could get back to his _actual _job, to see his brother and Winry, and Granny, and maybe even Teacher. That would be nice. He wrote the page number on the board and turned around to face his students.

"Open up to the page on the board." He tapped right under the numbers. "We're picking up where we left off on Monday. Tell me, what's the main principle of alchemy?" Three hands went up, and he felt disappointed that it was only that many. "Okay, you. Uh, Hermione?"

"Yes," she answered. "And in alchemy you can't gain anything without first giving something up in return." Half the class rolled their eyes. That was rude.

"Yeah, that's right." He smiled. "Can anyone tell me what makes alchemy possible?" A few more hands went up. He ignore them and skipped straight towards the guy who was sleeping in the back on his glass.

"You, in the back. Sleepy-head, wake up." His friend nudged him and he woke up with a jolt. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Uh."

"Times up. Five points from Slytherin. Anyone else? Okay, you, kid next to Hermione. It was Ronald, right?" He hadn't even had his hand up. If the class stayed like this all year, he was sure going to have fun messing with them.

"A circle?"

"What kind of circle?"

"A transmu-something circle?" He mumbled the word middle word.

"Good enough. The answer was transmutation, but you at least got half the word. Ten points to Gryffindor, five to you and five to Hermione. If any Slytherin feels like redeeming their house, tell me why you can't make grass into soft sand." A few Slytherin hands went up.

"Draco, can you tell me the answer?"

"Because what makes them up don't match."

"Basically. The word I was looking for was either elements or components. But five points to Slytherin. Now you're back up to the same amount of points. Anyone else?"

Questions and answers were thrown back and forth. Half of them were wrong, which annoyed him, but every time someone got the right answer, it felt like a relief. It was obvious who had been in this class the longest.

"Before I continue, any question you have me?" Several hands went up.

"Ronald?"

"Can you please call me Ron?" He asked. Ed nodded. Nicknames were fine by him. A few more questions, most about things like that, but others about the material. Out of all of his classes, this one was officially his second favorite. The only one that beat it was his seventh year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class. Overall, the older students were easier to teach, which made sense. "And Hermione, what's your question?" And she was his favorite student, because she paid attention. He knew he shouldn't pick favorites, but he couldn't help. He'd always been like that.

"Are you the same Major Edward Elric from the back of the book?" There was a rather noticeable. Second class and he'd already have to go into explanation. Oh well, maybe it was better to get the State Alchemist chapter over and done with first. He just really, really didn't want to. Not because of he and Roy were in there, but because he'd also have to tell the class who the _others _were and that wouldn't be fun. But he would have to anyway.

"Everyone open up to the last chapter. I was hoping to save to to the end, but Hermione figured me out." He gave a weak smile. Normally, he'd love to brag about himself, but right now he was stuck on a different continent teacher a group of kids who were his age, some of which were older than him in this class. "Before I tell you about the list of people written in the back, let's begin with alchemy in Amestris. Nowhere in the world is alchemy so widely practiced as in Amestris. We are the only country in the world that has alchemists as part of the military. Most other countries barely even know that Amestris exists, it's so small. State Alchemists are the most powerful weapons Amestris has to offer. We are, unfortunately, under complete control by our commanding officers. They tell you to research something, you research it. They tell you to go help with a murder case, you help with it. And if they tell you to go to war, you go to war. To us, alchemy is an irreplaceable way of life and if you start practicing, you'll be an alchemist for life. It's almost impossible to forget. The fact that it isn't more practiced around the world is amazing because it's very rare that things are more powerful than science, and alchemy just amplifies that, makes it leap off a page and come to life. Even so, it's all just an equation. It can be explained through years of study and being able to understand is an amazing feat that not many people can achieve. Amestris has been named the Alchemy Country for good reason. Flip three pages and I'll start explaining from there."

Ed leaned against the chalk board, his human arm moving to his face to wipe away the bangs from his eyes. His ponytail was coming out. Great. He reached back and fixed it.

"In front of you in a short list of the top five most famous State Alchemists. I would personally change this list, but that's give Bridgette Stevens the benefit of the doubt. Number five is Brigadier General Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist. The book doesn't say it because it was published right beforehand, but he died. A serial killer that killed State Alchemists got to him. I was right there and it was, um, a kind of frightening experience. He could change the iron in his blood into extremely powerful firearms, allowing him the ability to kill hundreds at a time. There was a war against another country that not many people have heard called Ishval. He was a pretty big part of that and he helped win that war. That's just the book definition of him. I met him myself a few times and as a person I didn't exactly like him.

"Number four is Major Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. He had a specialty in making chimeras. I don't know if you know what those are, but a chimera is a mix between different form of animals, and sometimes an animal and a human. Unless, like him, it's under the supervision of the military, making chimeras is extremely illegal and if you don't know what you're doing, dangerous. Before I met him, he'd made a the first ever talking chimera and not too long after he made--" Oh dear god, he couldn't talk about this. Not anything that involved her. "Anyway, he's dead. The book says executed, but he actually never was. Under secrecy of a certain branch of a military, he was allowed to finish his research. He accidently combined himself with, well, I actually can't tell you. It looked like a wombat if you ask me. Keep in mind that this book is glorifying everyone on the list, but in real life he was a bit, um, crazy. Same with Grand and the next guy." That luckily got a few laughs.

"Third is Major Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist. He was twice as crazy as both those last guys put together and that's saying something. His specialty was pretty gruesome. He was able to manipulate the components of a human body and turn it into an explosive. He was arrested and supposedly executed after the Ishvalan War for killing not only the other side, but other military personnel as well. He had a thing about...fireworks, as he liked to call them. Kimblee actually didn't die until much later, when the serial killer who killed Grand got him as well during the stupidest and most irrational act of war that the military ever tried. Another higher up reinstated him into the military along with Tucker. That same guy is the reason why half he and Kimblee's troop died. Note to be learned from his death: Listen to the guy who knows what he's talking about when you're told to get the hell out of there. This book doesn't mention the last bit of what I just said, because same as Tucker, he was supposedly executed.

"The second I'm skipping for a moment and you'll see why. First on the list is who I consider one of the best guys in the entire military, though I would never tell that to his face. This book says Colonel, but he's now know as Lieutenant General Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. He just had a huge promotion not too long ago, same as me. He's know as the 'Hero of the Ishvalan War', but he doesn't see it that way. He uses what's considered most of the most dangerous forms of alchemy: fire alchemy. Since he wears gloves with transmutation circles on them, with a single snap of his fingers he can change the air in front of him into fire. When fighting him, it doesn't exactly help that his accuracy is pretty much perfect. And he'll probably stay in the spot of number for a long, long time, if not forever. I'm not going to get into it, but it's because of him once again that we won the most recent war. He was able to singlehandedly take down the leader, a bastard of guy who controlled and corrupted the entire military. He's my commanding officer and the one who was able to get me into the military into the first place.

"The second is actually me. I'm not a Major anymore, so it's Brigadier General Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm probably also going to be remembered for a pretty long time due to the amount of, well, trouble I've called. I was able to join the army by the age of twelve, making me the youngest ever to join the military. I'm pretty well known around Amestris. It's because of the trouble that I know every single one of the men that I mentioned personally and I hold a special hated three of them. And well, the information in there about me and I don't feel like talking about myself today, so lesson over and done with. Any questions?"

He was met by dead silence. Good. He sighed and looked down. At least was over and done with. But shit, why did Tucker have to be in the list? Even mentioning him...he gritted his teeth.

He really, really wished he had someone to talk to.


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, thank you for all the reviews/favorites/alerts. It means a lot to me. =] Oh, and I actually didn't know what a wombat looked like, so I searched it up on google this morning and he actually _could've _combined himself with one. Who knows. And keep in mind that this is based around the anime, and I technically changed the ending. Instead of going into Germany, he lost his arm and leg again and probably destroyed his body with about a thousand cuts. I didn't know how to throw him in any other way. Heh. Just thought I should clear that up. More people follow the anime, so I thought I would just use that instead of the manga, which I have also read. And the chart in the second part got all messed up, so I know it looks really stupid. Take out all the dashes.

I don't won FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Four

The owl dropped the letter and package in front of in the middle of breakfast. Several other teachers had letters arrive as well, but he received a few very odd looks when he pulled the paper wrapped jacket onto his lap. He let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he'd be able to wear one his own size, and one that declared his actual military ranking. Quickly he took off Roy's and replaced it with his own. He smiled slightly, which was unusual, because normally he hated wearing his uniform. As much as he hated to admit it, but even the smallest size didn't fit him, so when it was given to him, he was told to 'transmute it smaller'. His office (and Winry) hadn't let him live it down for a while, not until Riza backed him up. Having a girl stand up for him was an annoying feeling, but he let it go. He fell right into their hands by getting angry in the first place. He opened up the letter and his smile grew.

_Edward--_

_The office says hello. _

_Don't deny it, Fullmetal, your even shorter than most girls. I'm still classified as average height. How are the students? Are they as clueless as Hughes said? Owls have pissed me off, I've decided, but I suppose I'll get used to them. You should've heard Alphonse's voice over the phone when I called him, but he said it was okay. It feels weird talking to him and knowing that he doesn't remember anything. But then again, maybe that's a good thing. Thank you for not destroying my uniform, though I'm not sure if I believe you. I'm looked forward to getting that one back. Your apartment is covered in dust, so be prepared to sneeze like crazy when you get back, because it'll only get worse. Everything here's fine. Boring, but fine. We should go out for drinks when you get back (no alcohol, though I probably don't need to say that). Life's too quiet without hearing your annoying voice every five second and now I have no one to back me up when Riza makes me do paperwork. _

_Sorry I can't save you, but the office and I have agreed to keeping sending you letter so you aren't completely cut off from normal people._

_--Roy. _

Compliments hidden inside insults. How very Mustang. He folded it up and slid it into his pocket. He'd write the letters when he got back to his room, but right now he had class the moment breakfast was over. He'd just put Roy's jacket inside the drawer on his desk when he got to his classroom. Unfortunately for him, his dorm room was on the other side of the castle. Hogwarts was huge and didn't have heating, making it seem even larger and even colder.

"Well, you seem awfully happy," said Professor Sprout next to him, causing him to jump. "A letter from your girlfriend?" He almost spit out his drink, but swallowed before talking.

"My Commanding Officer," he said, cringing at the thought. It brought up an image of Mustang as a girl...it was a scary idea. "I've been wearing his jacket since I first got here, so he sent mine and I'm sending his back. I would never date the Roy, even if someone paid me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My mistake." She laughed a little. "You're just so young that for a moment I forgot that you were in the army and automatically assumed. That smile was quite large."

He felt embarrassed. "It's because I'm hearing from home. I'm half way across Europe."

"Ah, so you're homesick."

His cheeks flushed. If it were any other teacher, he probably would've died by now, but Sprout reminded him of a grandma so it was hard to not like her. At least in his eyes.

"N-no, it's not that." He paused. "Okay, maybe a little. I was back at work for maybe a week before I came here. Same with the Lieutenant General. We'd both been hospitalized for a while because of...circumstances," he explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking."

"It's okay, you didn't know. I should probably get to class." He stood up along will all the other teachers and students.

"See you at dinner then, Edward." And with that they separated, leaving Ed feeling slightly awkward.

* * *

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their usual seats as the class filed into the room. Professor Elric was at his desk, back turned towards the chalkboard as usual, book in hand as he copied down a diagram that would luckily be explained because Harry had no idea what it meant. Apparently none of the others did either.

Understand-----------Destroy------------Recreate  
----First---------------------Second---------------Final  
Define object---------Break down------ Reshape object  
and components-----object and--------to reform into  
-----------------------change principles------new object

"These are the three basic steps of the alchemic equation," he said, turing around to face the class. "Copy down the diagram in your notes."

There was a sudden flurry of papers and quills and ink. For the next three minutes or so, everyone was rewriting what was on the board. Many, Harry and friends included, because Professor Elric's handwriting, though surprisingly neat in its own way, was very small. It was what the Dursley's would call 'doctor handwriting'. Small, somewhat slanted, and with a mix of random capitol letters, print, and script. It was physically painful to look at.

"The first step is understanding what it is you want to change and what you want to change it into. You have to take into consideration everything that allows the object to exists. Once you do that, you destroy it. You break it down in order or change it. The basic elements are still all there. Then you recreate it. You take the broken down object and use the same elements to turn it into something new. It is possible to stop at the second stage, though I advise against it. I know someone who did--the serial killer who got Grand and Kimblee. Even I've used it a few time when I became desperate enough. If you don't stop there, though, the destroy and recreate happens so quickly you can't even tell. I'll show you an example. I'm going to change a section of the floor into...um. I'll change it into a miniature city. It'll be the city I live in. Four inches will equal to one mile. And don't worry, I'll fix the floor when I'm done. It's easy. Everyone move your desks against the wall." There was a scrapping of desks as they were all shoved against the wall.

The moment it was done, he walked out from behind the desk and crouched down, clapped his hands together, and put them on the floor. Instantly, there were flashes of blue--they looked like lightning--and the ground moved. And, just the Professor Elric said, a city took up the entire middle of the room. He stood up and dusted his hands off on his pants. There was dead silence.

"See? It's easy. I made the streets pretty large so you can walk down them if you like."

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione. How was that not magic? They, along with most of the students (some hung back still, looking weary or a little scared), stepped onto the streets. The detail was amazing. If all maps were to look like this, no one would ever get lost. There were even little street signs and names on stores and restaurants and a banner on what was obviously the military building. He even made little people walking down the sidewalks and it looked as if he hadn't missed a single fire hydrant. Everything was in stone of course, but everything looked flawless. If he was this good when he was younger, no wonder he made it in as a twelve-year-old. Harry doubted that even most witches and wizards could do this!

"Okay, now everyone off. I'm going to change it back so you can move desks to their usual position." And he did so. The floor looked exactly the same as it did before. "It's quick enough that it's not even noticeable. And I know that now it looks fancy and all, but during a fight it's useful. When I was younger, my first transmutation I made with my brother for my friend's birthday present. We took sand and made her doll. At the time, transmuting was completely new to us, just something we'd studied out of a book. So you could actually see the sand struggling to reshape itself. The doll did come out successful, though. My brother and I were talented even back then. Now he can't remember alchemy or anything else after the age of nine." The last part was mumbled, as if he were talking more to himself than the class. Most people probably hadn't even heard it; Harry and his two friends did only because Hermione had insisted they grabbed the front seats. "Anyway, those are the alchemic steps. Now I'm going to go over the Periodic Table of Elements. Your homework will also be this. You have to start memorizing..."

The lesson went of from there. When the class was released, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were three of the first people out.

"That was amazing!" Ron said the moment they were out of earshot. He wasn't the only one. "That city was just...was just wow. How did he do that? He really wasn't lying last Thursday, was he?"

"Of course not, Ron!" Hermione crossed her arms, books held to her chest as the headed off the Charms. "And it was alchemy, the entire point of class. So what do you think so far? It isn't as bad as you thought, now is it?"

"No," Ron admitted grudgingly. "But the homework is annoying. Why to we need to memorize all this muggle stuff, anyway? What do you think, Harry?"

"Yeah," he said, but something was bugging him. What was..."Am I the only one who noticed he didn't use a circle? He said it was impossible to alchemy without it, but he didn't use one. And there isn't one on his gloves either. I checked the first class."

"You're right, now that you mention it." Hermione paused and got that look on her face, meaning she just remembered something. "The teacher last year said the same thing, but mentioned that one man in the military didn't need one. And the name Edward Elric sounds familiar. I think I've read it somewhere other than the book."

"Hermione, we're going to be late," Harry said, tugging on her arm. "Puzzle out the mysteries of the world after Charms."

* * *

_Mustang--_

_Thanks. I'm not short, goddamn it. They're pretty clueless. Two of my classes are okay, but both those classes are older than me! They're pretty clueless. I feel like I'm teaching third graders. After only about five classes, I already have a favorite student. Going out for drinks sounds nice. I don't even like alcohol. It burns, I don't really get how you guys do. Tell Hawkeye not shoot you because then she can't be promoted. My voice is not annoying. I'm going to send Al a letter when I finished writing this one, so good thing you told him. He'd flip. Owls aren't to common around there. I might be able to go home during winter break, but I'm not sure if teachers can leave. They get off for some holiday I've never heard of. They have a lot of weird holidays. Has Havoc had any luck with girls yet or are you still stealing all his girlfriends? Then again, maybe I should wait for a letter from him. And you guys are saving me to the best of your ability. Oh, they didn't even know what the Periodic Table is. _

_Another thing: if I can, I'm sending you a book. In the back, there's a list of the five most famous alchemists (it was written two years ago), and we're both in it. One and two. It made me laugh when I read it over the second time. The first time I was too shocked. I'll see what I can do. How's your shoulder? Does it still hurt?_

_--Ed_

He sealed it in an envelope and grabbed another piece of paper.

_To Al,_

_Sorry about the owl._

_How's everyone holding up? Tell them all I say hi. How are you and what's up? This mission is hell on Earth. I'm stuck in a school where they can just make things come out of thin air. My students never heard of Equivalent Exchange until I came in! It's insane. Tell Winry that if she hits you with a wrench that I'll get Sheska (you don't know her) to repeat all the most boring files she knows word for word until she can't take it anymore. Trust me, that will stop her. See if you can send me some actual food. The British shouldn't be allowed to cook. When they aren't look, I transmit the majority of the food I get into something else. Oh, and also tell Winry that no, I haven't broken my automail yet and probably won't. _

_I'm sorry I couldn't be there longer, but I pulled the shortest straw (don't make fun of me; I'm taller than you by a lot by now), so I have to go. I'm still part of the military, and for no apparent reason I don't feel like quitting. Oh, did I tell you I was promoted again? As of two days ago, I'm a Brigadier General now. Pretty cool, right? Don't worry, there isn't much physical exertion, so I'm basically fine. I might be able to go home during winter break, but I'm not sure if teachers can leave. I'll try though, I swear. If not, well, see you in thirty-eight week (I hate saying that). I miss you like hell, all of you. _

_Love you a lot,_

_Ed._

He sighed, sealed the letter and took both up to mail.


	5. Chapter 5

I have realized that I make the most spelling mistakes during letters. So, uh, ignore those. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. They mean a lot. =] And updating will probably slower--I have to go somewhere next week.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Five

"I remember where I've heard of him!" Hermione whispered at dinner. Harry and Ron leaned closer. As usual, they were trying to distract any unneeded eavesdroppers. Though when eating at the Gryffindor table, it wasn't too hard of a feat. "I read about him _ages _ago."

"_Where _have you read about him? You can't just say that you have and not explain," said Harry.

"It was back in the fourth year. I was researching SPEW." Naturally. "I was in the library trying to find out good material. Some of it was actually quite good, though you wouldn't--"

"Cut to the chase, Hermione," Ron whispered back. "It was two years ago. Just tell us what you're talking about."

"Well, as I was searching for new information, I came across a stack newspapers in a corner. I bet I'm the only one to read them since Dumbledore. He clears all the book, you know. Anyway, my curiosity got the better of me and I started reading them in order. I never finished because I was going to be kicked out any moments if I hadn't left, but I got pretty far into the stack. It was dated back to what's now five years ago, and starting with an entry about him, the headline of the first page! After that, most of the ones I read somehow involved Edward Elric or the military." She smiled victoriously.

"Why would be in our newspapers and I've never heard of him?" Harry asked.

"It wasn't _our _papers, Harry. It was papers from Amestris! It seemed that suddenly five years ago our school starting collecting them. And it all started when Professor Elric became part of the military. You should come with me tomorrow and help me find it."

"Did you say five years?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded. "He said he joined when he was twelve which means he would still be a teenager. I knew he looked young!"

"Harry, that would make him either sixteen or seventeen." For a moment, all three of them just stared at each other in awe. "Depending on when his birthday is, he might even be _younger _than us by a month or so."

"But then why let him teach?" Ron asked. "That's really, really young. Good thing you weren't right though, Hermione." He grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"You said he looked thirteen."

"Well, it's true!"

Harry laughed.

* * *

_Fullmetal--_

_Alcohol is an acquired taste and too sophisticated for someone like you. Genius or not, you still have the maturity level of a twelve-year-old. What's the favorite student like? And of course you feel like you're teaching kids. They don't even know the Laws. I hope you're drilling them into the ground. What're the holidays called? I hope you can make it back to Central. You'll have a lot of paperwork to do, trust me. Now that you're a Brigadier General, you're going to be doing more than just going to the library, though you'll probably be sent on just as many missions as before. The military has to send two or more alchemists out at once sometimes to do things that you could've done on your own. There's huge possibility of me getting sent out sometime soon. Send the book with the next letter. I'd like to read it, see what it says about me (and you I suppose). _

_There's a heat wave here, so be happy you aren't in Amestris this week. You're automail would be hot enough to give skin a second degree burn if I had to guess. And the office is even hotter than outside. We've thrown open all of the windows, but it isn't making a difference. The uniforms aren't helping any either. At least we're being let out early so I have enough time to shower before I bring Marisa out for dinner tonight. She's a nurse down at the hospital, the one near Headquarters. Sorry that the handwriting's messy, meant to say that on the last letter. I didn't realize how hard it would be to write with vision only out of one eyes. It's getting easier though. _

_--Roy_

_Yo, _

_Mustang showed me your last letter. Yes, my girlfriend HAS been stolen. Her name was Leisel, real pretty girl from another unit, a Lieutenant Colonel. Looked good in her uniform. And by, well, guess who. Bet you got it right. There's this one girl I have my eye on, real cute, works as a nurse down at the hospital near HQ. Think I should ask her out? Not gonna ask Mustang. _

_Wait, so why am I asking a kid?_

_So how's the whatever school of whatever and whatever? Hope you haven't killed yourself yet, cause I wanna hear stories of all the horrible things those little kiddies have done to you. Then I can laugh at you, because I didn't have to go. Not that here's much better. Hate the heat and now it's even hotter than usual. _

_Don't make a gun out of the floor and kill yourself just yet,_

_Havoc_

Ed jumped suddenly as someone entered the classroom and checked the clock on the wall. Damn. He hadn't realized it was this late already. He quickly picked up his four letters (another from Al, and the fourth from Hawkeye of all people) and put them in the drawer under his desk. He really wanted to finish reading those...He turned away wrote **pg. 33 **on the board. And underneath:

Test on Monday

And underlined it another three times.

The class groaned.

"We're about to move onto chapter two, so today's just review. Oh, and I've thrown on that extra lesson we did." _Plus I don't feel like doing anything_, he added in his head. "What makes alchemy possible?" He stifled a yawn. He hadn't had much sleep yet; the damp cold made the area where skin and automail meet hurt like crazy. But he did suppose it was better that he wasn't in Amestris, because cold was nothing compared to the heat. Heat made it hurt every time his arm brushed against his skin and he couldn't touch anyone else for an entire day with his arm. He called on a Gryffindor girl.

"A transmutation circle," she answered. He nods. Finally, the question isn't tacked onto the end of it. If you're going to answer a question, at least be sure of it, or don't say anything at all.

"And what's the principle of alchemy called?" He called on a Slytherin. God, he was tried. And these British people didn't have coffee. He'd never been somewhere without coffee and tea was disgusting, as was pumpkin juice. Who made juice out of pumpkins anyway?

"Equivalent Exchange."

"What does it do?"

"You can't make something without using something else." They should really learn that word for word. Hermione had, and that was it. But then again, no one seemed to be able to do that. The girl had a gift apparently.

"What makes up the Periodic Table?" A few tentative hand raises; they'd gotten this four days ago, they should know this. He called on someone.

"The elements that make up the world around us?"

"Good." He held back another yawn. "Why can't you do alchemy without a transmutation circle?" He went over that one on Monday too. He called on Hermione.

"The object won't understand what you need it to change into, and different circles mean different things. You need to tell the object what to do." He nodded. Of course she'd know the answer.

"What's the strongest branch of the Amestris military? You get this wrong and I'll refer to you as an idiot for the rest of the year."

"The State Alchemists."

"Who were the five we learned about? In order." He called on Hermione again.

"Brigadier General Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist, Major Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist, Major Solf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist, Brigadier General Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and Lieutenant General Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist."

"Knew I could count of you, Hermione. What are the steps of alchemy?"

"Understand, Destroy, Recreate."

"Explain what they do."

And on from there it went, Ed only half awake and listening to the answers halfheartedly. Every time someone got something wrong it was like a grated thought his heart was cheese and tried to scrap it before realizing it wasn't working. It was so simple! How could they get it wrong? But then they left, and he was left to his letters once again.

_To Edward:_

_Follow orders. Please inform Mr. Dumbledore that you may be sent home if a hard enough mission comes up. If they send Roy out, you probably will be sent too. We hope this won't come to this, or that it won't happen until the summer, but things are looking pretty bad on the northern border. _

_I hope you're okay,_

_R. Hawkeye_

How very like her. He sighed; he tell Dumbledore later.

_Dear Brother, _

_We miss all you here. I'm happy about you getting the promotion, and who's Sheska? Winry cringed when I told her. (this is Winry, Ed: the wrenches will be thrown at you when you get back, NOT AL!) _

_Sorry about that. She stole the pen. Guess what? I got a cat. I thought that he and Den might get into a fight, but they seem fine together now. I might go back with Teacher to train again. I just hope she doesn't put me on Yock Island all on my own. It was bad enough when it was the two of us. All is one and one is all! Remember that? When you come back, you still have a lot of explaining to do, because no one else will tell me anything. You will, right brother? I really hope you can get back during winter. I don't like not having you around. Winry and Granny are working a lot, so I can really only play with Fletcher (the cat) and Den half the time. We'll send food with the next letter, because we weren't sure how much the owl could carry. I miss normal post, Brother. Getting an owl's really weird. _

_I really, really miss you,_

_Al_

Ed sighed and fixed his hair, even if it didn't need fixing. Fletcher...if only he understood the irony behind that name. It was a fitting name for a cat though. He'd write back tomorrow, but right now he would just grade homework assignments.

* * *

Harry and Ron followed Hermione down on another one of her adventures to the library, though this time considerable more willing than usual. It wasn't that Harry suspected him of anything; on the contrary, he actually found Professor Elric to be kind of cool. If anything, they were doing this about of pure nosiness. A teacher was finally interesting and had the possibility of being even more interesting, a fact that was probably doubled by the knowledge that he was a teenager.

"Here it is!" Hermione said in her "library voice" after a bit of searching to find the right corner and the right newspapers. "See--oh, these are even more recent."

Together they filed through, reading different papers, uncharacteristically silent as they were each absorbed into their own readings. Hermione was right; Edward Elric was all over the papers, though there wasn't a single picture. It was the same Edward Elric though, that much was obvious. To his left, Hermione suddenly giggled.

"What?" Ron asked, looking up from his own paper.

" 'Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the People, and the first military personnel to ever do something other than oppress us poor souls who don't wear uniforms'," she read. "He didn't tell us that one."

"He said he didn't like to talk about himself," Harry pointed out. "There's some really messed up stuff in here. His first job and success was stopping a serial killer who liked to kidnap women and cut them to pieces in the back of a meat truck. It says he was only twelve. That's sick."

"I think I found the other killer he was talking about," Ron said. "It says here that there was an Ishvalan (I think he mentioned that) serial killer with an X-shaped scar over his case that was targeting State Alchemists. Then there are a list of ones that he killed."

"There's also something here about a town named Lior. The print of this one is a little smudged, but I can make out his name at one point and something about a holy prophet." Hermione squinted at the words.

"The town is mentioned here again," said Harry. "A civil war began there, and then the military joined. The name Elric isn't mention in here at all."

"There's a third mention of Lior of here, too," Hermione cut in. "It says that the state military launched an attack because of something with that scarred man, which I've just realized was oh so creatively named 'Scar'. Almost an entire army was wiped out at once by, as some survivor from the ground says, 'a flash of red light. That Fullmetal kid came running at Lieutenant Colonel Archer, telling him not to go in, but the Lieutenant Colonel said to push ahead anyway.' So that's what he was talking about."

Suddenly a shadow was looming over them, menacing and big, much larger than the birdlike librarian making it. After a few moments' ramble on how the library would be closing in two minutes, the trio was thrown out without so much as a 'goodbye'.

* * *

Okay, I'm sorry that the ending to this chapter was so bad, but I was getting rushed off the computer so...


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Hey. I hope you remember what I said about not being able to update as quickly next week. I'll _try _though, because I really do love having reviews. =] It's a very nice feeling knowing that people like your work. Oh, and Ron and Hermione's birthdays I got out of the books. I don't know the days though.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter One

The sounds of scribbling quills over parchment filled the room, like the hum of bees. The test would be hard from them, extremely hard, he knew, hence the reason why he assigned it. He was making the class easier than it should be, but then again, he couldn't teach them the way _he _was taught. Actually, he wasn't even sure if he'd want to; he didn't want to kill and oh, he most definitely could. Plus it was illegal, but that wasn't the point. So instead of dwelling on the past which normally wouldn't do anyway, he pulled out his pen and a few pieces of paper.

_To Al,_

_(Winry, I'll just duck)_

_Sheska's a librarian (well, ex-librarian) who works for the military. She has a photographic memory and can repeat entire reports word for word. It's kind of scary actually. She and Winry are friends, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. When I first met her, I had to swim through books to keep her from drowning in them. _

_I'm happy to hear about the cat. Fletcher's a good name for him. What's he look like? Den's too nice to ever get in a fight with anything, even a cat. Send a picture with the food. My thoughts on British cooking have stayed the same. They have this thing called kidney pie. I didn't even touch it, just transmuted it into blueberry pie again. I was surprised I could do it, but oh well, it worked. Not needing a transmutation circle can get pretty useful at times. _

_If teacher hurts you, I'll kick her ass. And she knows I can now. _

_These owls can carry a lot. I was surprised. Remember how heavy my military jacket is? I forgot mine right before leaving, so Mustang give me his and that's twice as heavy. The owl was able to carry it though, so I'm pretty sure it can carry food. Some bite. I basically have to test each one before sending it. My hands are covered in bit marks. _

_All is one, and one is all, you're right. _

_Love, _

_Ed_

Hermione came up, paper in hand. Ed looked up at her in shock. Naturally she was the first one finished, but that was pretty fast. He looked over it quickly to make sure she did everything and nodded to her go sit back down. For a moment she just stood there, looking like she wanted to say something before turning back to her seat. Weird. He wondered what she was going to say.

_Roy--_

_The student's name is Hermione. I have a weird feeling that she's older than me, even if it's just by a few months. She actually bothers to do the homework and read the book. Memorizes everything I say. The class seems pretty interested (I guess I'm not as bad at teaching as I thought), but she's the only one who listens to every word._

_England's freezing and rainy. I'd forgotten how much I hated the rain. I'm going to ignore the twelve-year-old comment. You're talking to the guy who performed the first ever successful human transmutation without the help of the Philosopher's Stone, so keep that in mind before you call me a kid. Hawkeye told me we might have to go on a mission together. What're the odds? Do they think we can't do it on our own or something? Damn Furher, always underestimating people. Uh, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Oh well, this is in pen, can't erase it and you should now by now how much I had cross-outs. If I can get back during break, I'm going to spend at least four or five days with Al, though you probably would've guessed that already. _

_I don't think I know all of the holidays, but I know three: Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. Weird names, right? And all I know are the names. I'm not quite sure if I wanna know what they're for. I forgot to ask about it in my last two letters, but how's your shoulder? Those stitches looked pretty bad. _

_You're handwriting isn't too bad, so don't worry about it. I've realized by now how much you hate that thing. Are you like me and constantly being told not to do anything that can 'hurt' you? I got that every ten seconds back at home. Having cuts all over you body really sucks, especially when they're taken by the gate and a lot harder to heal. So I guess we're stuck in the same board now. _

_--Ed_

_P.S. Here's the book. Read the last chapter. _

He looked around. Hermione was still the only one done, her textbook open as she skimmed through the pages. He sighed. Two letters to go. Mine-as-well make them short, seeing as he spent a long time of Roy and Al's. Now that he reread it, Roy's was even longer than Al's. Oh well, he had more questions to answer. He reached over and got another piece of paper.

_Hey, _

_I'm not a kid._

_If her name's Marisa, Mustang beat you to it. Maybe you should start looking out of town, or reach the size of Armstrong so you can date his sister. I just realized that when I get back, I'll actually have time to date someone. Sure as hell not asking you for advice though. The last thing I want is your bad luck rubbing off on me. _

_I'm going to kill myself (yet anyway). I would be unfair to you guys, especially since you would have to take over my paperwork. Wait, no, that might actually be a good idea. I wouldn't mind having you do my paperwork. How about this, when I get back, I help you get a girl and you do my paper work. Equivalent Exchange, right? _

_Still not killing myself, _

_Ed_

People starting getting up, handing in their papers. There were only a few stragglers left, hurrying to finish.

"Ten minutes until we go onto chapter two," he said. Those kids started writing even faster. His mouth twitched into a smile. Ah, how he loved torturing them. One more letter. He sighed.

_To Hawkeye:_

_I told him yesterday, and he says it's fine, but he hopes that all is well. Dumbledore talks weird. I'm following orders (for once), though all I really have to do is teach. Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm in a school, what could happen? _

_Thanks for asking anyway, _

_Ed_

He sealed the letters and looked up at the clock. "Time's up, turn in the papers." Those poor stragglers all stood up, glum expressions on their faces as they handed the tests in. Ed added them to the top of the stack and wrote **pg. 41 **on the board, drawing a transmutation circle next to it.

"Take notes, this is important," he said. "Transmutation circles are more commonly called arrays. I just haven't been referring to them that way because I didn't want you to get confused. I've already explained to you the importance of one_, _which was on the test, so I really hope you didn't get it wrong. There are more arrays than you can count. Some are extremely simple, and others are so confusing they'll make you brain stop working. It's kind of interesting though, because you can manipulate arrays to change themselves with other arrays. I've done a lot for, uh, certain circumstances in which someone else drew an array completely wrong, though they didn't mean to. Not that they could've known anyway. I did it out of guess work, and never actually tried it, but that's not the point. I used it at a later date and it did work. People are making up new arrays all the time. I, like most alchemists, have arrays on my gloves so if I'm in a fight with someone I don't need to go 'oh, please stop so I can draw up a way to kill you.'" Well, that was total bullshit. "Life just doesn't work that way. The Lieutenant General has a very complicated fire array on both of his gloves. The only downfall to that is rain; if it rains, he can't make a spark, making him completely useless.

"The array on the board is just a starter's array. It's generally the first array an alchemist will ever learn. It's not like you pick what you want to learn as a kid. You need to learn the basics first. The one of the board is the first array I ever used. Remember when I was telling you about how my brother and I made my friend a doll? I brought in sand. An array is drawn on my desk." Which it wasn't, but they couldn't see that. He could use one, but he didn't feel like it. For him, not using on was much simpler. He put enough sand on the desk, clapped his hands together, and put them down to where the outside of the transmutation circle would be. In an instant, a doll identical to the one he and Al made was Winry was sitting on the desk. He held it up. "See? You can use it for other things as well, like breaking a chain after scratching it in with a nail to break the chains keeping you there, or to fix a broken radio. Extremely useful.

"For now, I'll just be explaining basic arrays to you. I'll probably spend a few classes on it and then fly through the harder ones. You'll never be using this anyway, trust me. But to go over another quick things about using quick arrays, many people also tattoo what they need onto their skin. The serial killer that I keep telling you abou--you know what? I'm just going to call him by his name. Scar had up to his elbow on arm just one big array. He never used it to create things though, just to stop at the second step and destroy. He only went beyond that step once, and it ended up saving my brother's life. Kimblee, who actually had an array on each palm, turned my brother into a bomb. Before it could explode, though, Scar used the array he had on his arm and transferred it over to my brother, stopping the bomb from ever detonating and reversing the effects. Scar...died that day, unfortunately. Due to several odd twist of events, I suppose you could almost call us friends. I was probably the only State Alchemist who was sad to hear that he died. Anyway, I'm getting off subject. No need to think of the past." He sent them a smile.

"Your book actually gives quite a good lesson on arrays. It doesn't explain how to use them, which is fine, because you only have an information book. Though it might not seem it, there's a very big difference between an information book and one that helps teach it to you. This doesn't go into technicalities. An alchemist didn't write this, I can tell you that much. Stevens probably had a fascination with the science and decided to write a book on it, that's my guess." He sat up on his desk, not feeling like walking around anymore. He took one deep breath and continued on his lesson, watching in almost awe as people took down notes. Someone was actually _listening _to him. Amazing, really.

He finished, and there was an almost awkward silence in the classroom, but then the bell and rang and everyone was free.

* * *

Harry gathered up all his things, following Ron and Hermione out of the room, but a voice from behind them stopped him.

"Hermione, Ron, and Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" he said. All Harry could think was _oh, no. _He slowly turned around along with his friends. Professor Elric motioned them over.

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione said, voice going up a note as it often did when nervous.

"The librarian told me something very interesting on Saturday." He didn't _look _angry, but Harry learned that looks could be deceiving. "She told me that the three of you were looking me up newspapers from Amestris. How did you find them? I didn't even know they were there."

"Um, well, sir, I actually found them two years ago. I was researching something they caught my eye. I shouldn't have looked, but--"

Surprisingly, Professor Elric laughed. "Sorry, you just reminded me of a friend of mine. Don't worry, I don't mind. I just wanted to know how much you found out. I was never really a big reader of the newspaper myself, so I don't know how much it says in there."

For a moment they just stood there, not sure what to say, but all at once, the three just spit it out, all of it.

"Interesting. They press didn't know much, that's a good thing." He raised one eyebrow. "But it seems like you aren't telling me something. What is it?"

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione. Eventually, Ron said it.

"Well, we--more like Hermione actually--found out that the first paper was from five years ago. So when we did the math, we found out that you were only seventeen..." Professor Elric laughed again, but almost nervously.

"Sixteen actually. I don't turn seventeen until February. That's what I didn't want you to find out. Have you, um, told anyone else?" They shook their heads. He breathed a small sigh of relief. "Don't. I don't want the other students to realize that someone their age is teaching them." There was a pause. "But you guys still have to listen to me. I might be sixteen, but I'm still your teacher."

"Okay!" They all said, just happy they didn't get in trouble.

"You can go now. I have to go mail letters." And with that they left, Professor Elric exiting the classroom a few moments later.

"He's younger than Ron and me!" Hermione said under her breath as they left for Charms. "If that's teaching, it means that he's been considered an adult since age twelve."

"This is bizarre," Harry said, shaking his head. "It makes feel like a kid. The three of us aren't even of age yet."

"It's cool, though. No wonder he's not strict on rules. I mean, it feels weird being taught by someone three months younger than me, but I can deal with that. It's like he's thirteen or anything."

"My birthday's in three days. He's five months younger than me. That's almost half a year."

"And he's four months older than me."

They all just stared at each other, and Harry had a dawning realization. "That means he's already killed people and he isn't even of age yet by our standards." It was silent, the idea causing a rock to fall into the pit of his stomach. "I wonder why he joined."

"It never said anywhere," said Ron. "And he never said in class. Think he'll tell the class at one point?"

Hermione shook her head. "Who knows? I just wonder why he gives us these large lessons on arrays, but I haven't seen his use one yet. You were right, Harry."

"And they aren't on his gloves. He lied."

"I thought he said it was impossible to do it without one."

But before they could dwell on it any longer, they were ushered into Charms and began on a very hard, slightly dangerous lesson in which Professor Flitwick was almost killed a flying lampshade.

* * *

Did anyone get the references in the second paragraph of his lesson?


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the long break between updates. That camp's killer, seriously. Fun though. Hope you enjoy.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Ed yawned, covering his mouth as he came to sit for dinner. God, he was tired. This was ridiculous. All he was doing was teaching! It was wasn't like he was out fighting Homunculi all day or something. Not that his body was even up to it. The Gate, oh the Gate. He almost felt like faking a human transmutation just to destroy it. It was the cause of _everything _in his life. Well, actually stupidity was, but stupidity was what opened the Gate in the first place. At least it didn't kill him when he brought Al back or anything of the sort. All it did was take away his arm and leg again and gave him a bunch of cuts (on the skin _and _on the organs, but patching up both was easy enough). Since they were still healing, all he would have to do was take it easy and he'd been better in just a couple of weeks. Now if only he were still in Amestris. Then he'd be happy. No dealing with kids. He hated kids so damn much.

"Long day?" Sprout asked him. He nodded.

"I hate third years," he said. "I have both classes today, and sixth year class. How can you stand working with eleven and twelve year olds?"

She shrugged. "It's all a matter of patience, dear. I prefer the younger kids actually. They complain more, but much less picky, wouldn't you say?"

Ed shook his head. "It's the _talking _I can't stand. I've never been somewhere where someone's talking while someone else is. If that makes any sense."

"It does. Maybe it's because in my classes they're allowed to. It would be awfully boring to work with plants for an hour and have to be silent the entire time."

"I have a class where I have to talk. So if they're talking, I can't teach. Not that I really wanted to anyway..."

Sprout laughed. "Of course you don't like teaching," she said. "I would be surprised if you did."

"Why?" he asked, transmuting the kidney pie on his plate to blueberry while she was distracted. Kidney pie. He didn't even bother trying it. Anything with the word 'kidney' in it wasn't worth it. The pumpkin juice he changed to orange. It's not like you could tell the difference.

"You're from the military," she answered. "It must be a difficult transition to make."

"I suppose. My life was all fast-paced I guess you could say. And teaching is just...slow. I prefer learning stuff to tell other people how to learn it."

"What did you like to learn?" she asked.

He paused for a moment, not sure how to answer. Instead he just swallowed some of the now-eatable pie. "Alchemy," he answered. "I want to know everything about it. I want to be able to do it all. And I suppose you could say that I'm already on my way to doing just that."

"Then why don't you go back to school?"

Ed laughed. "There's no school for alchemy," he said. "You have to teach yourself, or have some other alchemist teach you. There's nothing like Hogwarts, which only teaches you magic. That's one of the reasons I joined the army."

She raised her eyebrows in surprised. "You signed yourself up to fight so they could teach you new things?"

Again, Ed laughed. "No. I joined for the library. I needed to use a library that only State Alchemists had access to. The military doesn't teach you anything. You have to come knowing everything already, and you can't fall short on anything." He shook his head. They really didn't get anything, did they?

"That's a very interesting reason to join," she said slowly, like she wasn't what to say. "So what are your classes like?"

He inwardly cheered for the change of subject. "Well, you see..."

Later he went to bed, a stack of graded papers on his desk and thoughts on the conversation. He hadn't thought about it much. _It must be a difficult transition to make. _It was. Up till now, he'd just ignored it for no apparent reason. All his life he had a goal. First, it was to learn all the alchemy in the world (which, he supposed, it still was). Then it was to become good enough to bring back Mom. Then to get into the military. And finally just bring his brother's body back and do _anything _it took to do that. But now he had no goal. It didn't feel right. When in the military, though, it could give you small goals, like solve this case or complete this mission or win this war. He missed that.

Suddenly he felt panicked. He _missed _it? No, that shouldn't be right. All of that meant things like death or someone getting hurt and that wasn't like him at all. No, he'd just gotten used to it, that's all. He missed being needed. Yeah, that was it. And missed the people. Like Winry and Granny and Teacher and Sig. Like Al...he really, really wished he could see his brother now. Al, Al who didn't know anything. Al, whose life he fucked over. No, he wouldn't think like that. Well, he also missed Hawkeye and Havoc, Breda, Fuery, Falman. And--dare he say it?--Mustang. Wishing he could see Roy. That was a new one.

He rolled over onto his side, shutting his eyes, feeling the black tanktop he'd taken to wearing at night ride up. The blankets were soft, not unlike the one he used to own back at home. No, no it wasn't home. It was his house, his first life. Mom...he missed her, too, though he didn't like to think about it. Because it barely even brought up the image of the real her now, and he felt like he'd betrayed her. It brought up images of eyes and a gapping face coming through the darkness. Of open ribcages and mistakes that never should have been made. It brought up the image of Sloth and how he had to kill her as she wore the face of his mother. God, he was so fucked up.

And that conversation with Harry, Ron, and Hermione earlier. The two conversation somehow merged.

_So when we did the math, we found out that you were only seventeen..._

_Sixteen actually. I don't turn seventeen until February._

_It must be a difficult transition to make_.

Was he really only sixteen? Well, of course he was. Of course he was sixteen. He just never really saw himself as young before, never saw it as anything more than an age. Lust was right. He sold away his childhood when he became a State Alchemist. He couldn't have both.

He got up and went into the bathroom, splashing water on his face, the light falling through the bathroom window shining off of his automail.

"Get a grip on yourself, Fullmetal," he said to his reflection, barely even noticing he didn't use his real name. Then he turned around, and went to bed, not thinking along the same line as before. He hadn't needed to wait for an answer. Mirrors couldn't say anything. But if it could, what would've it said?

Ed didn't want to know.

* * *

_Dear Brother,_

_I'm going off with Teacher tomorrow, so it might take longer to reply. Sorry. I showed her your letter. She got all mad...so I guess that you're right. She's the one who sent you the food. She's a good cook, right? I forgot. This way you won't have to eat kidney pie. Who puts kidneys in pies? You're right, the British are weird. But now you have food from here, so you should be fine. How's the teaching going? I can't image you teaching, Brother. You aren't too good at explaining thing. Remember when you had to explain alchemy for the first time? Reading it from the book was a lot easier..._

_Fletcher's an orange cat. Well, kitten. He can fit in the palm of my hand and likes to sleep next to Den at night. I feel bad, leaving him behind right after getting him, but Winry says it's fine. She and Granny'll take care of him. _

_I should be back by winter, though, so if you can come, we'll still be able to see each other. We all want to. How long is it? Are you going to spend the entire time here? _

_Sorry this letter's so short, but I'm about to go. _

_Love, _

_Al_

_P.S. You aren't too good at checking. The owl bit Winry when she tried to pet him. _

Ed almost laughed. Winry was probably pissed. Maybe next time he won't check...wait, no. Winry would kill him the moment he got back. Bad idea, he supposed. He moved onto the next letter. It was nice getting all four at once.

_Fullmetal--_

_Successful? You almost died from blood lose and internal bleeding, you idiot! And you call that successful?_

_...Okay, so it actually worked. I guess you're right. Just never try it again or we'll have to take away your title and no one wants that. _

_I don't know why the Furher thinks we can't do it on our own. We're both good enough. It takes three men to accomplish what we can do alone, even when injured. Speaking of which, my shoulder/other various wounds, are fine. It hurts a bit when I move my arm, but it's getting better. It's the I've-gone-blind-in-one-eye thing that's annoying. At the moment, being called out seems unlikely, but we both know how quickly a situation can change. And yes, I am constantly told not to do anything that can 'hurt' me. I am perfectly capable, thank you very much. And yes, I am aware that you will spend time with Al. I'm surprised that you aren't staying there the entire time. _

_I'm not quite sure if I want to know what those holidays are either. Congratulations on not being a horrible teacher. I'm shocked._

_Havoc told me you were thinking of getting a girlfriend when you get back. Interesting. As much as I hate to say it, you might have a chance. The whole 'Hero of the People' thing has made you pretty famous around Amestris. Good luck on finding yourself someone of your own age though. I'll be an amazing feat if you find something to talk about. I'd shoot for older if I were you. More experience. Except the height difference will be a problem with any age._

_I read the last chapter. Out loud to the office in fact. They made you sound like a god for making it into second place. They did for me, too, but we all know that's true. I also noticed that the author didn't mention how vertically challenged you were. I was very annoyed to find Kimblee in there, but I am quite happy to make it into first. Amusing. I'm loved even over there. _

_Sorry about the cold, kid. I'm just happy it isn't me. The heat wave finally ended._

_You'll probably hate hearing this, but take it easy._

_--Roy_

Naturally. His large ego even managed to come out in paper. But maybe Ed wouldn't call him out on it this time.

_Edward:_

_Good. Please take care of yourself. _

_R. Hawkeye_

He wasn't even going to bother writing back to that one. One sentence.

_What's up?_

_You wound me. Do you really think I would fall for that? Equivalent Exchange my ass. I don't need your help to find me a girl and I don't need to grow anymore. I'll find a nice girl, settle down, maybe get married. I'll fly up ranks, right? Damn, can't wait for another promotion. Only a Lieutenant Colonel. I'll be pissed if you find girlfriend before I do. _

_So, nah, your paperwork will be just sitting there. Waiting. Expectant. Boring._

_But how's it going on your end of the world? Yeah, Roy got to Marisa before me. Unfortunately your letter came just a bit too late. I asked her out. She turned me down. Roy laughed his ass of because apparently the fucking girl told him all about getting asked out by an awkward blonde guy who wasn't suave enough for her taste. I can be suave! What does the Lieutenant General have that I don't? _

_Life isn't fair, is it kid?_

_Bored out of my mind, _

_Havoc_

Ed smiled slightly, and yawned. He hadn't slept well the night before (due to running thoughts) and now he had class in ten minutes, so he didn't have time to reply. In his mind he could easily imagine Havoc's face--the same zombified look he got every time he was turned down. Thursdays were always a killer. And it was cold in his classroom, freezing, causing the skin near where the automail connected to hurt like crazy. England was one of the rainiest places he'd ever been to. One of the coldest too. Not as cold as the Northern Border where he'd been a few times before but a pretty close second. Oh, how he hated the cold. It was the end of September...Central would be the perfect temperature this time of year, now that the heat wave broke. He was getting too homesick and he didn't like it. Nine months and four days. That was all. The first few kids entered. Sighing slightly, he stood up and began his lesson.

"Today we're continuing arrays," he began, stifling a yawn. "So get out your notes." There was no flurry of papers this morning. Everyone had everything out already. Good. "On Monday we learned the most basic array and now we're going onto several more basic arrays. These are still mostly used for things like heating water or fixing and things like that. Kids stuff, basically, but you need to learn this anyway. The easy stuff lays out the foundation for everything else in alchemy and..."

* * *

"Happy birthday, Hermione," Harry heard Professor Elric say as they packed up their stuff, causing the three to jump. There were other people in there, but it was too loud for them to notice. "You're officially older than me."

"How did you know it was her--" Ron began to ask.

"I got curious, so I asked Professor Sprout yesterday at dinner," he answered. "So happy birthday."

"Oh, thank you." Hermione smiled.

"Sorry that I still need to assign you homework the day after you turn seventeen."

"It's okay!" Hermione said quickly. Harry and Ron couldn't help it--they laughed. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Professor, Hermione could never be annoyed at homework." They grinned at each other; she'd always be the same. Harry remembered when she was stuck in the hospital wing in second year and still asked for homework everyday (and kept a note from Lockhart under her pillow).

"Oh, then nevermind." There was an awkward pause.

"It's okay," Hermione said again. "Come you, you two." She pulled them out. "That wasn't funny." She frowned.

"Sorry," they said together. A mad Hermione was never a fun one.

"It's fine," she mumbled, hugging her books to her chest. "But we're going to miss Defense Against the Dark Arts, so we better hurry." She bit the bottom of her lip. "I'm still not perfect at those nonverbal spells. But practice makes perfect, right?"

Harry shook his head. Not _perfect_? Harry couldn't do it at all. Neither could Ron. And yet she was complaining that she wasn't perfect. Her mind was very strange, he'd decided long ago.

"Well, let's go. I don't want another detention from Snape again," Harry said, but Hermione was already walking away, practically running. They still had five minutes and he was in no hurry to reach DADA and be tortured by the teacher. At least in all his other classes there was _some _element of fun, last class included and that was mostly lecturing. So he walked slightly slower than the other two, trying to think of something else besides nonverbal spells. So instead he thought about his next lesson with Dumbledore. What was it going to be this time? What memory? And why were they doing this? The headmaster hadn't explained.

Then he paused. _Dumbledore_. The man knew everything. Maybe he could ask him why Professor Elric didn't use transmutation circles. He, Ron, and Hermione had been wondering and now there was a possibility of finding out the answer. He'd picked up his pace, catching up with them.

This would be interesting.

* * *

And another sucky ending. Goddamn it. Hope you enjoyed. This was probably the most halfassed chapter I will write in this story, but I'm exhausted and want to update so I hope you enjoyed it anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

Hi, guys, sorry for the delay (again). I'm just so tired...I got almost no sleep for like a week. lol. And writing this chapter was really hard for some reason. Probably because I can only seem to get like five minutes on the computer at a time. It's a shared one with my brother, mom, and dad. Kinda sucks, right? Oh, and there's a random Dumbledore part.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Eight

The memory left Harry shaking. He'd just seen Tom Riddle as a kid, an eleven-year-old. He took a deep breath. The discussion with Dumbledore was over and he was free to go. He stood up, meaning to leave, before remembering what he meant to ask. He quickly turned around and opened his mouth to speak. Dumbledore raised one eyebrow curiously. Harry shut his mouth. He didn't know _why _he was so nervous to say it, but he was. It was an invasion of privacy after all. But he really, _really _wanted to know.

"What is, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, looking at him expectantly.

Harry paused and then just said it, "Why doesn't Professor Elric use an array? He always says you can't do alchemy without one."

"Ah." Dumbledore nodded. "What a wonderful question and one that I have no business in answering. I do not even know the full story, and much of it is only guesswork and a few clues from a text book and several newspapers. And that is all I can tell you."

Harry held back a sigh. He was expecting an answer like that, but it was worth a try. "Thank you, sir. Good night."

"Good night, Harry."

Harry left.

"So how'd it go?" Ron asked the moment he stepped through the common room door. They were the last ones up, as usual.

And so he told them all about the memory, how creepy Voldemort was even back then, as just a kid. The entire situation felt bizarre, traveling through other people's memories.

"Did you ask him the other question?" Hermione asked once he fell silent. Harry nodded.

"He said that it wasn't his business to tell and that he didn't know the full story."

"I'm starting to get even curiouser," said Hermione, crossing her legs and petting Crookshanks as he lay sprawled out on her lap. He meowed slightly at the sudden movement.

"It's weird, isn't it?" said Ron. "I mean, teachers I lie all the time, so that doesn't make a difference. But you think the book would've said it, right? It would be unusual and there was about two pages on him. You think it would've made at least _some _mention of it."

"Maybe Bridgette Stevens didn't know." Crookshanks jumped off her lap. "If it isn't in there and wasn't in the newspapers, there might be a reason why he doesn't want anyone to know. It must be pretty rare after all."

Harry and Ron nodded. For a moment the three of them just looked at each other. Then Harry sighed.

"Think we'll ever find out the answer?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "We should try," she answered. Ron nodded.

"Yeah."

* * *

_Dear Al, _

_Tell Teacher thanks for the food. It's been my savior from starvation here these past few days. It's okay if you can't answer for a while, I get it. She'll sure as hell keep you busy. But at least you'll have good food everyday. Hopefully. I hope I can see you two soon, though I don't know how soon. All I know is that you get out in winter, not the exact date. It's for some holiday, but I don't know what day that holiday is. I think it's in December, but I'm not sure. Might be January. I keep on meaning to ask one of the other teachers of staff can leave, but I always forget. I'll ask soon though, promise. Just right now I'm pretty busy._

_Teaching's annoying, though it seems to be getting better. Three kids figured out my age. It was kinda disturbing, because apparently there are Amestrisian newspapers here. And apparently they date back to five years ago, which is when I first joined the military. Creepy, right?_

_Well, have fun, okay? And right whenever you can, you don't have to rush. _

_Love, _

_Ed_

He reached for another piece of paper, sighing. His fourth year class was taking a test. He found it was easiest to write when a quiz or test was going on; it was dead silent.

_Roy--_

_I'M NOT SHORT, GODDAMN IT! _

_Yeah, well, you're probably right. I wouldn't be able to find a girl my age. I never talk to any of them, no point. And everyone in the military is at least five years older than me. Eh, I'll think of something. Always do, right? Who the hell would date a sixteen-year-old anyway? I can't believe I'm having this discussion with you of all people. _

Someone came up to hand him a paper. He smiled slightly and looked back down at the paper. Though he wouldn't say it on paper, he had absolutely no idea what to do when it came to dating. And Mustang obviously had a lot of experience. This was officially the only downfall to never finishing school like a normal person. Al would have the same problem. He felt a sudden stab of guilt.

_One of the holidays are coming up soon. It's the Halloween one. I found out what it is. It's a holiday that involves pumpkins with carved in faces with candles in them and candy and customs, which won't be worn in the school. It's on October 31st, so there's like a month._

A few other students came up and handed in more tests.

_My free time's going to end soon, so I'll write back next time._

_--Ed_

And now onto Havoc's letter before the test was up.

_Hey,_

_Fuck you._

_Believe it or now, I really did think you would. It's the type of think you normally would fall for._

_And I've actually managed to feel bad for you. Too bad my warning didn't come in time. So, are you like a zombie again or what? Just find someone else. Or just do something else to get promoted if you want to be so badly. I don't know, ask Roy or something. He has the authority now that he's a Lieutenant General, right? _

_And no, life isn't fair. Not at all. _

_Hating how wrong these tests are, _

_Ed_

He sighed, and waited for the final test, timing it. They were all so...wrong. He was disappointed. Maybe his little 'nice streak' should finally end and he should take of points. He didn't really like the idea of doing so, but if they were going to keep on talking, then it was their loss.

* * *

Dumbledore was finding this to be an...interesting year in several ways. First was all this research he was doing, with and without Harry. If he had a choice, he would never have involved the boy, but the wizarding world was finding itself sinking deeper into dangerous waters. And Harry was involved in it all, whether anyone like it or not. And he would be dead at the end of this school year, and he needed someone he could trust to carry on his work and, though he disliked it immensely, the only one who could do so was him. He figured he should be sad, really, that he would soon leave this world, but he couldn't bring himself to be. Mortals could only walk the Earth for so long, even one as brilliant as he.

Second was the unnerving feeling that something was _wrong_, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. In all actuality, there were many things wrong, but all of which he knew. It was wrong that he was making Severus kill him, wrong that he was throwing Harry out into the open with very little warning, and how very wrong it was to allow Draco to halfheartedly attempt to kill him. It made him hurt a little inside, knowing what the boy must be going through. But no, that wasn't the unnerving feeling. It was a premonition, something whispering in that back of his head that his last effort, the final one before he died, would all be for naught. Wasted, useless. But he, for once, was going to ignore this feeling and acknowledge it only sometimes because doubting would make this all the harder.

Third was the trouble the muggle world was going through. They were suffering quite a bit, really. It was splashed all over the papers. It was an irritating feeling, because he knew his help would do very little. And they were completely unaware of what was actually happening, causing it to be all the more unsettling. It had happened before, yes, but that didn't stop him from feeling bothered at the entire thing. Those poor souls, unsuspecting to the wickedness brewed in another world that circled all around them.

The fourth and final was the new alchemy professor. Dumbledore liked having information on his staff, mainly for safety precautions for his students and just a tinsy bit of just pure nosiness. But information on Edward was surprisingly sparse. All he knew was that he was sixteen (ridiculously young for a teacher _or _military personnel), he was or is searching for the Philosopher's Stone, his brother was a piece of armor with a soul attached to it, and he was the youngest ever accepted into the State Alchemists. Everything else was the mentions of him in the Amestrisian newspapers he'd been collecting now for a little under five years. Dangerous missions, serial killers, civil war...and now the unsettling knowledge that he could break the Laws he so dutifully followed. Every alchemy teacher he'd had on his staff so far had taught the same lesson: you can't transmute without a transmutation circle. So how was this young man--only a teenager--able to achieve what was considered the impossible? He was a mystery, and Dumbledore needed to know if his secrets would be dangerous to the children.

There was a knock on his door.

"Please, come in, Edward," he said, refraining from using 'Mr. Elric'. It would be degrading, because that would mean Dumbledore was treating him like a student.

"Um, hello," Edward greeted, sitting down across from him, looking uncomfortable in the chair. As he entered, his hand began to go up as if to salute, but fell before he could follow through with the gesture. "Why did you want to see me, sir?"

"You may call me Albus, Edward." He smiled slightly, pressing his fingertips together, peering over his crescent moon glasses at the boy across from him. "We are equals, keep in mind."

"Yes, Albus," he answered, making a face as if the word was foreign on his tongue. Perhaps it was; in a military, one more often referred to another by last name rather than first. "Why did you want to see me?" he asked again.

"I only have a few questions for you." The boy shifted. He was uncomfortable apparently, which was to be expected. 'I only have a few questions' very rarely came out to be a good thing, but Dumbledore realized this after the words had already exited his mouth. "I need to know as much as possible about my staff and I've never had trouble getting information on my alchemy teachers before."

Edward fidgeted again. "Well, there isn't much to know about me. I grew up in a small, nowhere town in Amestris called Risembool with a mom and a brother, practiced alchemy, and became a State Alchemist. That's all there is to it." He wasn't very good at leaving out bits of the truth. They were written all over his face.

"Yes, that I know," he answered, nodding slightly. "But there are a few things I'd like to know, such as why you don't need to use an array."

His face drained for color. "I-ugh-well, you see--"

Dumbledore gave him a soft smile. "I'm sorry to ask, but I had to. I'm sure you understand. I generally have access to classified files, but I seem unable to find yours. We live in dangerous times, now, and I need to know if you're trustworthy."

Once again, he fidgeted. "So it won't work if I just tell you that I am and be done with that?" he asked wearily.

The headmaster shook his head. "Once again, I apologize, but information on you is impossible to find."

There was a very long, very noticeable silence that began to get Dumbledore a bit worried. If the boy was so reluctant to give answers, that could mean something very bad.

"Just something I got out of stupidity," he answered after a bit. "After my mom died, my brother and I tried to do something...well, stupid. Equivalent Exchange then came up and screwed us over. The only thing I got out of it was being able to use alchemy without a circle."

Dumbledore nodded. "Was this 'stupid' thing something that could potentially harm this school?" he asked.

Edward shook his head. "It might have been, if I was here even three months ago, technically. It just connects to why I was here the first time. But now everything's okay, so you don't need to worry." A smile popped onto his face. Whether it was real or fake, he couldn't tell. "Actually, I'm surprised you hadn't had anyone else from Amestris knocking on your door before I did. Having the Philosopher's Stone was a pretty dangerous thing, and not for the reason you'd think. You should've called it something else."

He raised one eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"'It is the type of stone the many a man would kill for'. That's what you said, right?" Dumbledore nodded. "That applied to Amestris, too, but it was a lot more dangerous there than it was here."

"May I ask why?"

Edward shook his head. "It's classified, and not on my file. But don't worry; it isn't there anymore. There's nothing to worry about. Can I go back to my dorm? I have to grade my fourth year's tests."

Dumbledore nodded and Edward left. Well, that was certainly an odd twist of events. 'Stupid' as he described it, then went on to talking about the Philosopher's Stone again.

He was suddenly even more curious than before.

* * *

Sorry this one's so short.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, sorry for the wait. I'm actually not sick anymore, just incredibly tired. I went to bed at like five in the morning last night. Stupid Jesse, stupid.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Nine

Ed yawned. The papers were graded finally, and the clock next to him said 12:38. It was a good thing he was used to pulling all-nighters or he'd barely be able to think tomorrow in class. He'd luckily taken a shower and brushed his teeth already, so all he had to do was change his clothes and crawl into bed. Ah, the beds here was so comfortable, unlike military dorm rooms or the cot at Winry's (he'd let Al take the spare bedroom) and most definitely more comfortable than the hospital beds he so often found himself in. He curled up, pulling his knees to his chest, tired but not yet read to actually sleep.

Why did Dumbledore want to know? His reason was logical, but did it really matter if he could do alchemy without a circle? He obviously didn't know what it meant, or he wouldn't have asked. And if he had known what it meant, would he still let Ed teach? Ed had no idea, really. And he had a feeling that he didn't want to find out because, despite the simpleness of teaching, he really didn't want to blow it...and have to deal with all the comments Mustang would make. Messing up a job as simple as this was, well, retarded. Even he admitted that. And not doing alchemy without a circle wasn't exactly _dangerous_, just weird.

Then another thought entered his head:

How did the man know he could do alchemy without a circle? He'd never watched him during class before and no one was that good at guessing. And yes, he did collect the newspapers (which was creepy as hell, but Ed decided not the dwell on it), but Ed knew for a fact that it was in there. The military controlled most of the paper and there was no way that could ever make into print, and it wasn't in the book either. Did he say something that might imply that he could this year? Five years ago? No matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing came up. So he never _did _mention it. What the hell?

Should he ask how? Let it be? Actually tell him? That would be interesting. But what if he got fired? He didn't really think that it mattered and if the man was still suspicious of him, it was better just to go rid of that as soon as possible. He should ask Mustang. God, he didn't want to do that, but if had to he'd do it. He would write that note tomorrow, right now he just wanted to sleep...

* * *

"Are you okay, dearie?" Professor Sprout asked as he came to sat down, yawning into his hand. He hadn't slept well the night before, head to filled with racing thoughts, which was never fun. It wasn't even like he had a bad nightmare or something (which in itself was pretty unusual); his mind was trying to process too many things at once.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Stayed up most of the night grading papers," he answered, taking some eggs for his breakfast. They were one of the few edible things here. And most of the meat wasn't bad...he just wondered how much it would suck to be a vegetarian in England. "And no one even got about an E."

"Hm," she said. "That's odd. Have you ever thought you were teaching them material that's two advanced for them?"

Ed shook his head. "I've been learning harder things than this since I was five. And I've never seen alchemy so simplified before."

"Has anyone got an O in any of your classes?" she asked.

"The older ones," he answered. "They seem a little better of grasping the concept, but I think that growing up with magic kind of screws them up."

"How so?"

"Alchemy has this thing called Equivalent Exchange, which basically means you can't make something out of nothing. With magic you can do that, so I think it confuses them. The people from non-magic families are _slightly _better, just because they took science when they were kids. But even then, not so much."

Professor Sprout nodded. "I can see what you mean, I suppose. I don't understand it much myself, but I know that the two are different."

Ed shrugged. Different was an understatement. "What does T stand for?" he asked suddenly, remembering. "I saw it on the grading rubric, but it didn't say what it stands for. Actually, I don't know what any of it stands for, just the requirement you have to reach to earn one."

She laughed, surprising him. "T stands for Troll, which is the lowest level, which I'm sure you are aware of. O is Outstanding, E is Exceeds Expectations, A is Average, and those are the passing grades. Then P is Poor, D is Dreadful, and T is Troll and those mean you fail. Did that make sense?"

She was answered with another yawned. "Yeah," he said, taking a sip of juice. He wanted coffee. Badly. "Would it be okay if I took off house point if they get a question horribly wrong?" he added. "Because that probably won't give them motivation to learn the material more, but it's getting annoying."

"Teachers do that, so yes, it's okay," she answered. "Didn't they have anything like that in your school?"

"We never had anything like 'house points'. The most I ever got was chalk thrown at me and lectures," he said, blowing a strand of hair off his face as owls began to swoop down from the ceiling. Two letters dropped in front of him. He felt a little sad, knowing that Al wouldn't be able to write to him as often, but he supposed it wasn't too bad. After all, he wasn't completely cut off from Amestris.

"You had chalk _thrown _at you?" Professor Sprout said incredulously. Ed nodded and opened up Mustang's letter.

_Fullmetal--_

_It's a holiday that involves pumpkins with carved in faces with candles in them and candy and customs? Remind me to never go to England. Though maybe the girls will dress down. Now _that _would be a sight to see. And who would carve a face in a pumpkin? Make plants into table ornaments is just weird. Food should stay food. And just a suggestion (which you probably won't follow), but no candy. You're obnoxious enough already and no need to annoy the people around even more by going on a sugar high. At least back at here we know how to deal with you. Speaking of which, you better be behaving yourself. We don't need a complaint, do we? And we've already had a request about looking into your classified file. I must admit, I'd forgotten they had to check that. I said that it wasn't under my jurisdiction to do that, so keep yourself out of even a little bit of trouble, you hear? _

_Back on the lighter subject, date your friend or something. It's Winry, right? She's your age. Or just wait until you get older. I suppose you really do have a problem there. Even if you act mature for once in your life, it's not like you'd pass as an adult. You still look too much like a teenager. And it's a lot harder for a teenager to meet a teenager since the two of you couldn't meet in the bar. I don't know, I'll help you think of something. I have nothing else to do except paperwork, so it'll be a filler for boredom I suppose. _

_But unlike you, I can meet girls and go out with them, so I'm finishing this letter now so I have time to pick up Marisa. _

_--Roy_

He didn't know whether feel amused or annoyed. A bit of both, he figured, though the annoyance did slightly outweigh amusement. Annoyance because Roy openly insulted him and annoyance because this school felt the need to _check _on him. He sighed and shook his head, earning an odd little look from Sprout on his right and that Snape guy on his left. Then he opened up Havoc's letter, which probably also had to do with dating. How did he get into this conversation with the two of them again? Oh yeah, he told it to Havoc, who told it Roy, who commented on it to him. Well, this was certainly turning out to be oddest discussion he'd ever had with his co-workers.

_Yo, _

_You really think that I would stoop so low? You'd have to pay me to do someone else's paperwork. Roy tried that once and yeah, I'll admit it, I almost did it. Okay, so I actually did do it, but that wasn't the point. For the same bribe, too. It worked...but she ended up falling for the matchmaker instead. So, I am going to give you a bit of dating advice even if you told me not to. But yes, you will want this one. _

_Don't ask the Lieutenant Colonel to get you a date. Asking him for advice is all good and fine and whatever, but asking him to directly help you is the kiss of dating death. _

_Anyway, no I'm not a zombie, and no, I'm not going ask Roy to give me a promotion, even if I DO deserve a bigger one than I actually got, but he didn't give that one to me, so I suppose it isn't his fault. _

_Being very bored,_

_Havoc_

He'd write back during his hour break because now...shit, he was going to be late. He'd barely even noticed that the students were starting to leave. He quickly scrambled up, stuffing the two letters in the pockets of his uniform and taking a shortcut Flitwick showed him to get their faster, running the entire way. Good thing he was in shape or he would be panting for the half hour. Why did Hogwarts have to be so damn big?

* * *

"If he does a demonstration, remember to look for an array," Harry said, voice low, right before they entered that Monday, Professor Elric right behind them. Harry felt a slight bit of panic. Did he hear them? But he realized that no, he thankfully did.

"We _know_, Harry," Hermione asked, voice just as quiet as they took their usual seats in the front of the room. Ron also opened up his mouth to say something, but never actually got the words out as the professor started to talking.

"Everyone open up to page 54," he said, moving his hair from his face. "We're starting a new lesson today and play close attention because this will be on your test on Monday. I'm going to show you a comparison between different types of array and how the more complicated the circle generally means the more complicated the alchemy. It makes sense if you think about it. The thing about alchemy is that all of it makes sense once you study it. Which is why, before the actually lesson, I'm going to take you through a comparison between magic and alchemy. Don't worry, I'm not just doing this to your class. I'm doing to to all the classes because the concept is obviously foreign to you. And you're actually one of the better classes.

"First off, if I get anything wrong about magic, which I can almost guarantee you I will, just raise your hand and correct me. I won't really care either way, I'm not going to claim to have studied deeply into the subject. In magic, you can make things out of then air, or make objects float or use a spell to create happiness, right?" This earned a class wide nod. "In alchemy, you obviously can't do that, as I've explained. It all goes back to Equivalent Exchange. In alchemy, you can't make anything float like you can with whatever that spell's called. Don't bother telling me the name, I'll forget within ten seconds. Yes, you can manipulate air, I've done it before and I've seen it done, but you can't levitate anything. It's considered unnatural. The only way that's really possible is by creating hydrogen and putting into something like a balloon. And there's no way in hell you can make a person float with alchemy and I would never even think of trying. I'm going to admit that to me, the fact that you can do that is bizarre. I'm not trying to insult you, just keep in mind that this coming from a scientist's point of view.

"Also, creating an emotion with alchemy is possible. You can create something to cause an emotion, such as making flow--" There was a pause. "--an apple to give to a person who loves apples or transmute milk to give to person who hates milk if you really want to annoy the crap out of them." He made a face. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he hated milk and if someone had ever done it to him. It was an interesting thought to say the least. "That's about as emotion controlling as you can get. I had someone once ask me if an alchemist could transmute a person's brain chemicals to make them chemically unstable. The answer to that is no, because everything in alchemy has to be chemically stable. I also know that you can do things like that with magic because I did a bit reading in the library." How very Hermione. "Everything in alchemy is an equation, like I've told you. The closest think in this school to that is potions and even then, it makes things that makes an alchemist cringe. It's an impossible to fathom idea in my mind that you can create something that causes obsession with a person.

"I've heard the fact that you can make life from a teakettle or just produce them out of nowhere with your wands if you're advanced enough. Actually, I've heard that you're grade should know how to do that, but that's not the point. You can't create life with alchemy. There's no way around. Not human life or animal life, because you can't recreate a soul. The closest thing you can create to life is this thing I'll go over later in the year or a chimera since you're combining lives. It's abnormal in the world of science and should never be touched upon. Idiots learn that the hard way. Though in magic it's considered a normal thing, in the world of science it's a sin and a moronic attempt to play God. And if you try to do that, you pay consequences. Equivalent Exchange applies to everything, _especially _that. You can loose a body, an arm and leg, your inner organs, the feeling nerves in your body...anything Equivalency decides to take away. Yes, science can tell you the exact components in a human body down to the smallest particle of protein in your eyelashes, but you still can't make a soul. You, back there, Parvarti, what is it?"

"Isn't there something about that in one of the last chapters?" she asked. "It seems really interesting. Will we be learning about that anytime soon?"

"You learn about that?" someone else said. "Cool, can we learn about it after our test on Monday or something." There were murmurs of agreement, turning into slightly louder signs of agreement.

"Five points from both Gryffindor and Slytherin because students were talking without being called on and it's very hard to learn questions that way." The class instantly shut up. Professor Elric hadn't taken points off since that first day and that was almost jokingly. And when Harry took a slightly closer look, he realized that the hands he hand placed on the desk were now clutching the end and his lips were pressed together. "I was saying it to prove a point, no start a lesson. We won't be learning that to the end of the year as one of the last if not the last lesson because it appears on the sixth year exam." There was a very long stretch of silence, then Professor Elric sighed and the color went back to his fact. "I'm giving those five points back to the houses, it was just a warning. Don't do it again. Do we understand the surface differences now?" There was a mute, almost frightened class wide nod again. "Any questions."

Not a single person raised their hands. Professor Elric skipped onto the actual lesson, complete relaxed like he normally was, like nothing had happened.

Harry found the his curiosity just grew a bit stronger.

* * *

Sorry, sorry, sorry for the rush-ish soundingness. Was it too out of character? Okay, well I hope you enjoy. This was finished at 11:55! I kept my promise! lol.


	10. author's note

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**Author's Note**

Hey, guys. I've updated. Since I deleted the last author's note and replaced it with the new chapter, I'm

not sure if it'll come up on alerts. So yes, chapter nine is out, I just deleted the

author's note.

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	11. Chapter 10

* * *

Hey, guys. Here's chapter ten! Please enjoy. =] Oh, and there's officially no set order to point of views. It somehow extended past Ed, Harry, and Dumbledore and it's probably going to stay like that. I hope it won't annoy anyone. It just makes my life easier.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Ten

_Roy--_

_I wasn't planning on eating candy anyway. I heard some kids talking about stuff they got from the sweet shop in this store called Hogsmead or however it's spelled. There are things called chocolate frogs (which actually hop), acid pops (which burn HOLES through your mouth), blood pops...stuff like that. I'm not going to touch anything, don't worry. No sugar rush for me, unfortunately. And thought the jack-o-lanterns (the pumpkin things) were weird enough. Everything about this place is a surprise, and I've already been here for a month. I'm starting to think I'll never get used to this place. Oh! And I got permission to go back to Amestris during Christmas break. So I'm pretty happy about that. I think I'll be there for two weeks or something, so I'm going to spend five days in Resembool and the rest of the time in Central so I can do some paperwork. Not that I want to, but I should probably lighten the load, right? But I suppose it's better than grading tests. You're lucky; you've never had to do that before. _

_I'm behaving myself just fine. He's asking for the files to make sure that I'm trustworthy or something. I don't get it. But somehow he knew I could do transmutations without an array. Did you accidently tell him? I know for a fact that I didn't. I didn't even realize it was important. I sorta told him, but I think I just made him even more suspicious. I'm debating about whether or not to tell him, but I guessed I should ask you for permission. I'm just wondering if he'll kick me off the staff. I hope not, because that would look horrible on my records. But seriously, what do I do? And my sixth year class is now begging me to teach Human Transmutation. At least they're the first class I gave my lesson on the differences between magic and alchemy, so I knew to leave out the last bit on how making life impossible, but still it's annoying. _

_And Winry's like my sister; dating her would just be weird. So, yeah, I guess I'll just have find a date a different way. I hate it when you're right. No one would want to date a sixteen-year-old anyway. Is my only option dating a little sister or daughter of someone in the military? Maybe I just shouldn't date until I'm older. _

_--Ed_

_P.S. You're still dating the same girl? I'm impressed. _

_Hey, _

_That's pretty good advice, Havoc. I highly doubt it'll come to that because I'm nowhere near your age, but whatever. Thanks anyway. Must suck for you, though, having a boss/friends who's such a womanizer. It seems the only girl who can resist his charm is Hawkeye. Hey! Why don't you date her? You two might work out. Or if Mustang's moved on to that Marisa girl, why doesn't you ask out that Liesel person again? She obviously liked you in the first place if she went out with you. And now that I think about it, I met her, right? Blonde hair, brown eyes, my height? Another State Alchemist? She was nice. I'm surprised you guys didn't last longer. _

_Anyway, yeah, why did you get such a low promotion. A Lieutenant Colonel, right? Or was it Major? I don't remember. But I'm still your superior officer (technically). How does that feel, knowing that a teenager is a higher rank than you? Off of that subject, how's everyone in the office? I meant to add that into my letter to Roy, but forgot. Oh, and he'll probably tell you, but I got permission to go home. I'll be in the office for nine? days I think. _

_Just as bored, _

_Ed_

Ed ran his fingers through his hair and slid the letters into envelopes, praying that Mustang wouldn't be angry with him for almost having his cover blown. Well, not that he really had a cover. He just came here as Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, not someone suspicious in the least. But how the hell did Dumbledore find out? He was so annoyed. Once again, it was a test for his sixth year class and he had the majority of the period to just relax and mull things over, especially since this test was very, very hard (it wasn't originally supposed to be, but his aggravation came out of paper yesterday when he was making it up) and would take up most of the time. This was absolutely ridiculous, the entire situation. First the thing with the headmaster, then getting begged to teach the subject he least wanted to go through, but had to anyway.

And it felt weird, telling Roy about it. But who else did he have to tell? Al didn't remember anything and even if he did, Ed wouldn't want to worry him anyway. So he went with his last choice, because no one else would really get it besides him anyway. No-a-days, if it ever came up in conversation with someone who knew about what happened, Ed just treated it like it was a light subject, but it really wasn't no matter what he said. Even with Al back to normal, he still felt guilty. And despite how happy he was to see his brother smile again and run around like nothing was wrong (even if he did have a vague idea that something was), his biggest worry being whether or not he'd have to go onto Yock Island (not that Teacher would ever put him there alone anyway), it didn't reverse what happened. Not to mention everything the Gate gave him still hurt like hell. His body, like most bodies, wasn't having the best reaction to having all the constant strain on it. Sometimes sleeping was hard because he'd roll over strangely on a few of the wounds and they'd reopen, causing him to have to re-bandage them in the middle of the night. It felt weird, having to ask the school nurse for some. Not that he could tell or show her why anyway. But besides that, he hadn't let on to anyway how much it hurt. Being in pain was such a normal feeling to him now, what with all the mission and whatnot he went on, that he learned not to show it unless he was alone.

Hermione came up to give him her test. He sent her a partial smile which she returned.

"Professor?" she asked quietly as he took out his red pen to grade it. He still marked things up the way the teachers back in normal school used to.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if Harry, Ron and I talk to you after class?" Ed blinked, confused. What could she possibly want to talk to him about? Was it something bad? Could this week get any worse? He wasn't sure he wanted an answer to that.

"Sure," he answered with a shrug before looking at her test, pen ready to not mark anything wrong. She took that as a sign to be dismissed and left.

He would never say it, but he felt absolutely miserable.

* * *

The short lesson after the test was finished was on the similarities and differences of certain array, continued from yesterday. He seemed considerable less enthusiastic than he was most days, though Hermione had a feeling she was one of the few who noticed. Everyone was listening just as intently as they usually were. She was surprised how well-liked this class had become. The past few years people were falling asleep on their desks instead of listening, causing much cheating off of finals. But then again, most of the teachers weren't actual alchemist and therefore they couldn't use demonstrations to prove a point, nor were they as interested in the subject as Professor Elric was. It was a nice change and she was very glad she stuck with the class. Maybe it was because she was a muggle-born, but the thought of science and alchemy had always fascinated her.

"Uh, look up here," he was saying. "We haven't gotten into the subject of it yet, but I'm going to show the difference of something incredibly complicated to something relatively simple. There are two arrays on the board, one I currently have on my glove. I had to imitate my friend's?"--there was very obviously a question after the word. "--typical array. The Lieutenant General I taught about a few weeks ago, this is his form. Fire alchemy. I'm going to keep it small though, since I've never done this before today, but I promise I won't destroy anything." Well, that most certainly didn't sound good. He raised his hand, showing the array was also drawn behind him. "Well, here it goes." The entire class tensed.

And then Professor Elric _snapped_, causing a small flame to appear and dance above his fingers, looking like it just came off of a lighter commonly used for cigarettes. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I wasn't expecting that to work," he continued, the fire disappearing. His hands slid underneath his desk as he spoke and when they went back on the desk, they array was gone; different gloved. "I haven't practiced at much, just the past few days, so I'm not too good at it. My commanding officer, though, can create huge explosions with it. Incredibly dangerous and ridiculously hard to fight against. For my assessment last you--the thing that renews my military title--I fought him. I think I'm doing the same thing this year, in July. It got pushed back since I'm here. And now onto the other form of alchemy I was going to show you."

He drew and array on the desk with a piece of chalk and took out a piece of metal. "This I'm much more familiar with, obviously. I didn't get the name Fullmetal Alchemist because my old leader thought it sounded cool. I work with metal mostly, though I can do other forms of alchemy, as I just displayed. I'm going to turn this into, um, a cup. As you can see behind me, the array for this is remarkably more simple than fire alchemy. Not to say to say it's any easier to do when in the middle of battle, because it involves a lot more movement. Mustang can just snap; I have to run around. Takes a lot of stamina." He put it down on the desk and placed his hands down on the array. There was that typical flash of blue light and where the scrap metal was, there was now a cup. "See?" The bell rang. "Well, see you on Thursday. Have nice rest of the week."

Hermione nodded to Harry and Ron and they took their time getting ready to leave. Charms was right down the hall, only a few doors down, so they particularly in a hurry. Something was bothering Hermione about what they'd just seen and she realized that her two friends had the same face on that she did. Up until today, he hadn't used a circle, not once, and now he did. Why? And he also didn't clap, something he'd always done. Did he not have to clap when he wasn't using a circle? Yet another question to ask.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Professor Elric asked once the last person--Pansy Parkinson--left, walking around to the front of the desk and sitting on it. For the five seconds that he was standing next to her, she couldn't help but realize she was a good three inches taller than him. She bit back a laugh.

"Well, you see," Harry said, wiping his hands on the front of his robes. "We were wondering if--"

"If you were okay," Hermione cut him off. That wasn't what they'd actually been wondering about, but it was a good way to start the conversation. Professor Elric looked very confused, as did Harry and Ron. "You seemed a little...put off yesterday."

"When?" he ask. "Oh, you mean about everyone asking to learn chapter 35? Nah, I'm fine. Just keep in mind that I'm part of the military, so talking when someone else is giving a lecture is a pretty odd thing for me. I'm not used to school. Is there anything else?"

There was an awkward little silence. Maybe they shouldn't have stayed after to talk to him after all. Sure, he was younger than her, but Hermione couldn't help but feel like a just a kid next to him all of the sudden. It felt like he was years older than them, not old enough to be a student, and definitely too old for the age he looked.

"We were also wondering why you didn't use a transmutation circle," Ron answered. Naturally it him to say it. Outside, it began to rain. "You said that all alchemists need one, but you didn't use one until today."

A look of utter shock was written all over Professor Elric's face. Hermione felt guilty, but, typical of the three of the, curiosity got the best of them. "You three figured out the first lesson, didn't you?" he asked. The wide-eyed look hadn't gone away. Not he looked even younger than usual.

"Well, yeah," Harry answered, shifting slightly from foot to foot. "I didn't mean to. We're just the front three seats, so we were able to see it. We're sorry. We just, um, couldn't help but ask. No other students have figured it out, though," he added quickly.

"Were you the one who told Dumbledore?" he asked bluntly, the shock leaving his face and no emotion left on it. Hermione's guilt level increased.

"Yes," she said. "We didn't mean to snoop, but, well, we--"

"Couldn't help it," he finished for her. They nodded. "He asked. It's nothing that can hurt you guys, trust me. My until wouldn't have let me come if he could've. Actually, I technically shouldn't even be here because of age, but it went through the my unit and I pulled the shortest straw." He paused. The three of them stayed completely silent. "You guys are just students. It's bad enough that you know my age. Let's just say that there are exceptions. There are excepts in everything, right?"

"Sorry to bother you, sir," Harry said quietly. Professor Elric gave a little wince.

"Please don't use sir. I know I'm your teacher, but it's just weird. Professor Elric's fine. And, well, you guys know me enough already that I guess you can just call me Ed if no one else is around. Now go before you're late for whatever you class you have next." It was their turn to be shocked.

"O-okay," they all said at the same time. 'Jinx', Hermione stupidly thought in their mind. Turning around quickly, they all left. Just like last time, Prof--Ed left a few seconds later, heading off to the owlry.

"That was weird," Ron said a few minutes later, once they all began practicing their new Charms lesson. It was the perfect class to talk in because there was so much activity that no one really heard other people's conversations. "The entire class was."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I've never heard a teacher as a student to call him by his first name before."

"Maybe he's lonely," Hermione answered. "He _is _just a teenager before. I'd be too, if I was away from home for ten months."

"Hermione, we _are _away from home for ten months." Ron's crow squawked. She seemed to be the only one who knew what she was doing.

"Ron, the hand motion is like this." She demonstrated. Ron grumbled something. "And yes, that much is obvious. But we at least have each other and surrounded by other witches and wizards. He doesn't have anybody and being a scientist, he has no idea what anyone in the school is talking about."

"I guess you're right," Harry said, also trying to get his crow to shut up. "If he wasn't our teacher, I'd try to be friends with him, but I'm not even sure if that's allowed."

"You aren't allowed to have romantic relations with a teacher." She tried to show Ron again. This was hopeless. "And if you really think about it, we are. We're the only students who talk to him outside of class. And I'm surprised no other girls have, because I see a ridiculous number of them giving him oogly eyes."

"Did you just say 'oogly'?" Ron asked, laughing.

"Oh, shut up," she snapped. "It's true though. Flitwick is coming over." They quickly shut up.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay, dearie?" Sprout asked again, for the second time at dinner. It seemed to be her number one question. Did he have the words 'NOT OKAY' written on his back of something?

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for wondering." He gave her a weak smile. Inside he was panicking. Half way into the second month of school and already he was getting drilled with questions. Roy was going to kill him. Or did it not matter since he was in a different country? It didn't matter. All he knew right now was that he had basically, accidently signed himself up for _friendship _with three students. But it would be nice to here his actual name for once. Even other teachers just called him 'Edward'. Maybe they found Ed too childish or something? Oh god, he was getting a headache. "Just a hectic few days. My students are getting a antsy for a more interesting lesson, but I can't give that to them until the end of the year."

Sprout sighed. "I know how that feels, but I get that much less than other teachers because everything in my class in hands-on work. Why don't you try doing a demonstration? That might get them more enthusiastic."

"I've been doing that." He ran his hands over his face, wishing he hadn't, because the automail scratched open a cut on his cheek that he'd been trying to keep bandaged. It seemed the more annoyed he got, the longer it was taking them to heal and they worse they got. It made no sense, but it was from the Gate, so it _did _make sense because nothing in the Gate made sense. If that made that any sense, which it didn't. "I did that today and that _seemed _to work."

"You're bleeding, Edward." She raised her want to heal it.

"No!" he said quickly, being slightly louder than he meant to. McGonagall looked over, alarmed.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. Ed turned to looked at her. Person number three to ask that. "Oh, do you need that healed?" She also raised her wand. Damn his automail. And this was why he kept it bandaged, because he used a normal band-aid. And normal band-aids were considerable more inconspicuous than normal bandages, so not many people had noticed. But now it was bleeding. Joyful.

"No, really, it's okay," he answered. "I'll just go back to my room and get something to put on it."

"Are you sure?" Sprout asked. The panicky feeling returned. "You've barely eaten." Which was true--he'd rapidly been loosing weight because he'd been eating less and less. He just didn't like the food, that was all. At least he wasn't out of shape, though...he'd have to start going for walks or something, though, if he wanted to keep it that way.

"I'm fine, not hungry, really. And the cut's fine, too. It's small, right?" He quickly got up and left, breathing a sigh of relief as he left the Hall. Teachers left a different way from the students, luckily, so really only the staff noticed. He saw Dumbledore give him a curious look.

Ed was screwed. One hundred and ten percent screwed.

* * *

"That was odd," Pomona said to her friend as they watched the young man leave. "One moments he was insisting he was fine and the next he was bleeding. I wonder what happened."

"Do you think we should get Poppy to check on him?" Minerva asked. "I wonder why he refused healing."

"He doesn't understand magic," Pomona answered. "I've been speaking to him day one and I've learned at least that much. Poor dearie. He's completely alone."

Minerva nodded. "I can understand. "Has he mentioned anything else, though? I was talking was Dumbledore and I've learned that getting information on the child is like pulling teeth. It isn't easy."

"Perhaps you shouldn't call him a child, Minerva," Pomona said. "He may be young, but he's still just a student. But no, all I've learned is that he doesn't understand magic, he hates teaching third and fourth years, the letters he gets are from his fellow officers not a girlfriend, and that he hates milk. That's about it. Edward is very secretive."

"I've noticed. I've tried talking to him before. He doesn't speak much, though I've heard he talks a lot in class."

"Well, his classes _are _lectures. What are you trying to find out?"

"I don't know. Albus hasn't told me." Pomona nodded. The students started the leave the Hall, which was there cue to leave as well. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Pomona. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Minerva."

* * *

Wow, this chapter is 4,200 words. Well, then it's extra long to make up for the delay! And there seems to be a surprising lack of Ed POV in this. I didn't mean for that to happen, but here you go! I hope you enjoyed. =]


	12. Chapter 11

* * *

Hello, my wonderful readers. =] lol. I love all your reviews. Anyway, here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy! And sorry about the ridiculous amount of mistakes last chapter. Oh, and to the anonymous reviewer, I love you're review. Maybe'll use it. There's just one problem...this is sixth year. xD And follows the plot, but I'll see what I can do.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

"What were you saying earlier about oogly eyes?" Ron asked, continuing their conversation from earlier now that they were tucked away in their own little corner of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Grow up, Ron," Hermione snapped, moving her hair behind her ear. "Yes, it's a funny word, but who cares? And I meant that girls look at him the same why they look at Harry."

"What?" Harry looked up in surprise; he wasn't expecting his name to come up in this conversation.

Hermione rolled her eyes, pulling her knees to her chest. "You boys are completely clueless aren't you? They look at him like they're about ready to snog him just because who he is."

Harry had now lost the thread of where this was going, and judging by Ron's face, so had he. "Who is he? Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Yeah, Hermione," Ron said. "What does this have to do with Harry?"

They were greeted by a groan of frustration. "Both are superficial crushes. They like Harry because he's good-looking--"

"Hey, I'm not bad looking either!"

"--and has the whole mysterious chosen one thing about him. Profess--Ed (calling him that is going to take some getting used to) is _also _rather good-looking in a much different way and is a teacher _and _a famous military officer, making him off limits. Girls like the whole 'off limit' thing. And please, stop looking at my like that. You have the perception of teaspoon, I swear."

Harry took a moment to think that over. "So you think they'll slip him a love potion or something?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, even the dumbest girl wouldn't dare do that. They would get caught beyond a doubt, causing them to get expelled and Ed probably fired from the school and kicked out of the military. They might try something, though, especially around Valentine's Day."

"So what does this have to do with to do with what we were talking about?" Sometimes Hermione made no sense, even to him, and he was her best friend.

"It actually had nothing to with anything, just why I was surprised we were the only ones to talk to him. But now that I think about it, I suppose we should warn him. Though they probably won't slip him with something that could put either the girl or him into a compromising situation, they might try something."

"I understand what you mean, but would we do it? He might not want to talk to us after this morning. I mean, we asked him a pretty personal question. I feel kind of stupid now," Ron said.

"I don't think he's mad at us. He asked us to call him by his first name, right? I think Hermione was right."

"About what?"

"You agreed with me, Harry?"

"Yeah. I mean that he has no one to talk to. That's why he goes up to the owlry all the time, I bet."

"So you agree that we should warn him?"

Harry shrugged and Ron said, "Why not?"

"So on Thursday?"

"Thursday, then."

"Good."

Hermione smiled.

* * *

Ed rubbed his eye with his real hand, yawning and fixing his ponytail. His fifth year Hufflepuff Ravenclaw class just left and soon his sixth year Thursday class would be filing in. Hawkeye wasn't lying when she said he had a loaded schedule. Actually, it was a bit of an understatement. Not only did he have a loaded schedule, but he also had the work that came from said loaded schedule. Tired, so tired. When would Mustang and Havoc answer? Al just had, the letter on his desk, opened but read yet. He looked at the clock. There was five minutes. He had time, and Al's letters were never long. It was generally his and Roy's letters that were long, for no apparent reason. The food Teacher had sent him now sat on the desk in his dorm, just waiting to be eaten. Thank god. Another three days without starvation, finally.

_Dear Brother, _

_Sorry for not writing to you sooner, but I've been trying to learn everything as fast as I can. I'm still nowhere near how good you are, though. I'm also not picking it up as fast. I'm still learning, though, so I have time, right? Maybe I can become a State Alchemist, too. I wish I could do alchemy without an array._

_I'll be back in Resembool in a week, so my letters will come faster. Teacher and Sig say hi, and thanks for the cooking compliment. We hope you aren't dying of hunger yet! Everything's fine here, but I'll still be happy to go home. Oh, and they also said that if you can make it into Amestris for a few days, they'll come up to see you. I don't think I've ever seen Teacher actually _want _to see one of us before. I really, really hope you can make it though. I know it's only been two months, but if feels like ages since I've seen you. Then you can also meet Fletcher. And don't worry, I have been having fun._

_Why would there be newspapers? Aren't you in England? You're right, that's really weird. You should ask why. _

_I hope you're staying safe, Brother. I don't want you getting hurt anymore. So stay healthy, too, okay? I know you don't like the food, but eat right and make sure you're sleeping well because I don't want to see you sick when you get back. _

_I love you,_

_Al_

'Maybe I can become a State Alchemist'? Ed was going to kill him if he even so much as _considered _the idea seriously. There was already one Dog of the Military; the Elrics didn't need two. His fists tightened at the thought, the paper crumbling under his flesh hand. He heard the first student come through the door and immediately forced himself to relax, stuffing the letter in his pocket and leaning back against the chalk board. It was exceptionally cold today, the temperature now low enough to seep through his heavy jacket. He'd have to find out a situation for that. His automail hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Okay, I know just normal lectures are getting boring, but we still have to do them," he said. "And we're going to have to keep doing them, but today we'll just take a break. This class is a little ahead anyway and we're--Draco, you're late; two points from Slytherin--" The boy grumbled something that Ed couldn't hear and didn't particularly care about as he took his seat. "--moving through the book pretty quickly. So I was going to propose an option: You can use it as a free period and do the essay you were assigned so it's finished by Monday, or you can call out demonstrations for me to do. It's up to you. Raise your hand if you want to finish the essay."

Not a single hand went up. Ed was expecting that; no kid wanted to sit all period and just do homework. He was also hoping they'd choose this option. After all, they weren't the only ones getting bored and he would have nothing do but write a reply to Al's letter (which would take ten minutes) and doodle. Ed wasn't a big fan doodling.

"Well, then problem solved. Everyone move your desks to the side and sit on the tops or stand out something. Anyone want to do magic to do it?" A few hands went up, many of which he wouldn't trust to do this. Was he even allowed to ask this in an alchemy class? Oh well. He might not trust it, but it would get rid of that inevitable scrapping sound he hated so much. "Hermione, you can do it." And so naturally he picked his favorite, who was still his favorite, despite the fact that she and her friends were nosy as hell.

With a swish of her wand, the desks were all pushed back against the wall. Impressive. Everyone backed up, doing as he said. It was a great feeling, having people listen to him. It happened so rarely. Generally it was him listening to people. Specifically Mustang. Though when he looked again, he realized all Slytherins were on one side, all Gryffindors on the other. They acted like the other house was diseased or something.

"Any suggestions?" A few hands raised. "Okay, Parvarti, how about you?"

"Can you do the thing with fire again?" she asked. Ed shrugged and pulled on his old glove to replace with on with the array. The normal hand of course. And he snapped.

The fire was much bigger than last time, though slightly smaller than what he calculated. It tore down the row now created in the class room, until in stopped a little short of the back wall. Luckily this was all the stone--if it'd hit the desks, he would've been screwed.

"There you go!" he said, putting on a bright smile. Ah, nothing could make feel better as well as alchemy could, whether it was his general style or someone else's. "You, Zabini, any suggestions?"

"Turn the floor into something?" He pulled off the glove again--not need to get one array messed up with another--put back on his original, and pulled out a piece of chalk. The circle he drew was small, causing a few looks, but it would be big enough. He put his hands down on it and a statue grew, one similar to "sun god's" from Lior, the one that attacked him under rule of that fraud Cornello. As much as he hated to think about what happened back there, the statues did look pretty cool, and would be interesting to recreate.

"How did you do that?" asked Lavender. "I thought you said you had to use Equivalent Exchange."

"I did," he answered. Well, this was a good way to get in a lesson. "The components I used to make this thing here matched up with those in the floor. Sure, it's big, but it still follows Equivalency. Just because something looks large doesn't also mean it has more of something. I've made bigger than this and I've seen bigger than this. When I was in this one town--the one I based this statue off of--I made something much bigger. I would probably reach the ceiling here if not taller. And I had about the same amount of material, maybe a bit more. And at my State Alchemy Exam, this guy made this giant tower thing with amazing detail. It took up all his energy and he could barely stand, but that's beside the point. What I mean to say is that the size of something doesn't necessarily make it better. This looks like it's made of more than the floor, but it made of the same components and elements. I'm not breaking the Laws at all. Make any sense?" I got a few nods. Confused nods, but nods nonetheless. "Anything else?"

"Can you make something blow up, like that one guy from chapter 36?" Pansy asked as he turned the floor back into actually floor. He'd noticed something over the past few weeks; if a Gryffindor or Slytherin said something, then the other house had to one up them. And blowing something up most certainly one upped a statue.

"You mean Kimblee?" he asked. It was...doable. Not exactly ideal, considering that he hated the guy, and he'd never done it before, but he supposed he could try. And he had to admit that Kimblee's specialty was kind of cool, despite everything. "I suppose, though I won't blow a person up, nor the walls of Hogwarts which have more than enough material to do so. I guess I'll just take a pencil from my desk and manipulate with a few other things in the drawers..." He went to go and clap, but then remembered, picking up the piece of chalk and drawing the circle. Then he walked over, got the required materials and put them into the array. The class seemed to be holding its breath. He prayed that he would get this right because he wasn't lying when he said Hogwarts had the perfect material. The last thing he needed was the blow up the school. And the kids. And himself. And the teachers. He took a deep breath and put his hands down.

There was a very loud _boom! _as everything blew up, causing a little cloud of grey. He coughed (more like hacked), covering his mouth with his elbow. He'd gotten a face full of smoke which was never fun. But at least there were quite a few well appreciated gasps. He stood up, moving his hair from his face and wiping the soot from it. It took a bit, but he turned out look clean. Some of it got into the band-aid he had above his eye (he felt like an idiot whenever he put it on, but just like the cut on his cheek, it wasn't too noticeable) and into the one that had split open yesterday, but he could deal. All it really did was sting.

"That I did by once again using the components. I think there could've been a bit less sulfur, but the desired effect happened, so I'm not complaining. Alchemy, as I've state before, is simple enough the understand. It's all about the elements that make up the objects--what you start out with, and what you change it into. I am very, very happy that isn't a practical class or I'd have to explain what made up everything I just did. Kimblee used the human body to do this. Like I told you before, he had arrays on his palms. If he put his hands on, oh let's say a person's back, he could turn them into an explosive, shove them at a group of people, and they'd explode, bringing down everyone else with them. It was ingenious, and would be even more so if he wasn't a completely psycho. Anything else? Any questions?"

"Can you stop at stage two?" Naturally, the one up thing again.

"Sure." He picked up some metal he'd transmuted for his seventh years yesterday. "This should work. I haven't done this in about a year, but let's see what I can do." He threw it up in the air and as he caught it, he became to form the alchemic equation, but stopped. It burst apart. He grinned. "See? That's what Scar, the serial killer did. It looks totally gruesome on actual people, but it was fine on the metal for a demonstration. Anything else? Any questions? Yeah, Draco?"

"How can you do all of this when you say you've never done it before? You look you've been doing it for years." That _sounded _like it would be a compliment, but the way the kid said made it almost accusatory. Ed thought for a moment. How to answer this?

"Well, I've joined the military at age twelve. They don't let just anyone join, and to join before the age of twenty-one is a feat within itself. I just pick stuff like this up as long as I understand it. That's why I never had a formal specialty. I've been like this since I was learning the basics. Anything else? Okay, what do you want to know, Harry?"

"You said on Monday that a more complicated array doesn't always mean the alchemy is more complicated. What makes some forms more complicated than others?" Hermione's hand went up instantly. He called on her.

"It still has to do with Equivalent Exchange, but the more complicate parts of it, such as Providence and Conservation." Ed grinned.

"Yup," he said. Someone knew the names! Oh, he felt so happy. "It has to do with the Law of Conservation of Mass and the Law of Natural Providence. That's what I've been trying to teach you and what so many of you have been getting wrong on the tests. Like I said last Thursday, alchemy is science and magic is magic. Because of the Law of Natural Providence, you can't conjure something from thin air. There needs to be something to change and due to the Law of Conservation of Mass, the change must be Equivalent. A substance can only be created from the same type of substance. For example, if something is made up of mostly water, you can only use it to create other things with the attributes of water. This can be applied to everything.

"Take what Kimblee did for instance. The components that make up a human body are: water, thirty five liters; carbon twenty kilograms; ammonia, 4 liters; lime, one point five kilograms; phosphorus, eight hundred grams; salt two hundred fifty grams; saltpeter, one hundred grams; sulfur, eighty grams; fluorine, seven point five grams; iron, five grams; silicon, three grams; and traces of fifteen other elements. Kimblee was able to use these components to make a human bomb. Sulfur, for example, if highly explosive. A lot of human beings don't understand how delicates their bodies are and how many things can be done to manipulate them. Sulfur seems to be brought up a lot today. Iron can also be used as an explosive, as well as carbon, salt, and phosphorus. Water, believe it or not, can also help make something explode. If you manipulate some elements, you can heat up the water inside of a human body until it boils. Mix that in with the already explosive material and you got yourself a pretty good and pretty dangerous bomb. What I did with the materials from my desk if kiddy stuff compared to that.

"I just got slightly off topic. What I mean to say is that doing something such as making an explosive or changing the air in front of you into fire or rapidly changing the metallic elements of something is a lot more difficult than fixing a radio or creating grass into bread. The Natural Providence if larger and the Conservation of Mass gives you much more or less to work with. It just isn't as simple because there's much more to figure out. Measurements becomes harder to put an exact number on and the mass is harder to calculate. In the end, it all comes down to understanding something and using mathematical and scientific equations to perfect something. Understand? I know it's seriously different from what you've been learning for sixth years, but it's still worth knowing."

He got a few rather hesitant and mostly confused nods, realizing that he just talked them (and himself) into circles. Of course _he _understood what he was trying to say, but he'd been studying it for ten years, almost eleven, and it was confusing. Even if it was an informational class, he still understand how he was going to fit all of this into ten months, now only eight and a half. It was two difficult for them to grasp.

The bell rang.

"Bye, see you Monday. Have your essay finished by then or I'll start taking ten points off of every class it's late until you all get Ts."

* * *

"Um, do you mind if we stay after again for a few moments?" Hermione asked, taking a step towards Ed's desk. She bit her bottom lip, wondering how to phrase the little warning without embarrassing herself or him. She could tell the others felt the same by the way Ron was picking at his fingernails and Harry was shifting back from foot to foot.

"Sure," he said, a weary look on his face. She felt a stab of guilt--they'd pestered him so much he was probably wondering what else they'd bring up. "What do you need? I'm sorry if I gave you a headache with today's lesson."

"No, it was fine," she said quickly. Because of the subject, she'd somehow been deemed the talker for today. "We just needed to tell you something." There was an awkward little pause. There seemed to be at least one every time the four of them talked.

"Okay, shoot. What do you need to tell me?" He picked his chalk up on the floor and pocketed it.

"Well, you see, it's more of a warning actually," Harry said.

"Yeah, um, Hermione, you say it." She rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"We just wanted to say to watch out. If someone from class ever sends you a letter don't open it and try not to be cornered by any of the other students, specifically girls. We aren't trying something, but they might." Saying this to a teacher was much, _much _different than trying to explain it to Harry. He was a professor after all.

"Run that by me again?" He tilted his head to the side, confusion written all of it. Oh, of course, he wasn't a wizard. They'd have to be specific. She looked to the boys.

"What Hermione's trying to say is that they might try something," Ron said. "Don't open a letter from a student because it might of a spell on it or something. And girls might try to, um, well--"

"Flirt with you," Harry finished for him, tone blunt.

"And what makes you say this?" Oh god, he really _was _just a teenager. Only a sixteen-year-old boy could be told this directly and not understand it. "I'm a teacher, they wouldn't do anything, right?"

"Actually, that's exactly why they might try it." Hermione practically cringed at her own words. "Though they might not know how old you are, you do look younger than most teachers and girls seem to find that...fascinating. And you haven't noticed it--I'd be surprised if you had--but since we're students, we have."

Ed visibly paled. "Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind." The bell rang. "Here, I'll write you up a late pass for the three of you." He sighed and pulled it out along with a normal pen. He turned around and handed it to them with a sigh. "You guys are more helpful than the actual staff. Thanks again. See you on Monday. Do you're report and Hermione, help them. I don't want to read anymore atrociously wrong ones. No offense, you two, but she seems to observe information a bit easier than everyone else."

"I will!" she said brightly.

"Tell whatever teacher you're going to that I'm sorry for keeping you guys so long."

"Thanks."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

They waved and left, heading down to Potions. That sure went better than expected.

* * *

Ed sat on his bed the next night, curled up against the headboard, reading the letters he was sent from Roy and Havoc. It was always nice to hear from them, surprisingly. This world was just so strange, even after being here so long, and these guys were the same, his lie down to normalcy, to Central. It was easier to think about Central than it was about Resembool and he still couldn't understand why.

_Edward--_

_I sent you to a truly bizarre place and for one of the very few times in my life, I'm going to say I'm sorry. Please don't eat anything on Halloween. The last thing I need is a subordinate who has a hole on his tongue. But at the same time, I'm very happy that it isn't me who went, or Riza or Armstrong. She'd shoot at people and he'd get off subject talking about the traits of his family that have passed down through generations. And me, well, I wouldn't want to be there in the first place. I can't deal with teenagers. You're about as close as I can get and I still can barely stand you. Even so, I'm glad you can get back for winter break. None of us will really mind seeing you (surprisingly) and I'm sure you won't mind seeing us. And doing paperwork would be a smart thing to do, since the stack has gotten pretty high. Riza has had to do some, just so it doesn't overflow off the desk. The sad part is that I'm exaggerating. I never realized how much accumulated if you didn't do it for a few months. Or in your case, a month and three weeks. _

_Don't tell him unless he asks again, that's all I can say. Suspicion isn't a good thing, but I don't want you fired. If it does come to that, though, I'll just send in Fuery or someone to take your place. I won't blame you because for once in your life, it won't be your fault. I didn't tell him or give him any hint that you could. You're right, I don't see how it would matter. So you can do something other people can't, it's nothing unusual if they saw your non-classified files. You've accomplished more than enough that it shouldn't even seem strange. I don't know. And about your sixth year class, distract them or something. And when you do teach it, try to look like it's any other subject. I know you don't like to talk about it, but you're going to have to eventually. _

_I know a few daughters and little sisters. If you remember Maria Ross, she has a little sister named Abigail who's seventeen I think and Riza has a cousin she's pretty close with named Grace. She's sixteen, too. A month older than you. And Falman has a daughter whose name is Olivia, but she's eighteen and much taller than you. After that my information network stops. You have quite the problem there, Fullmetal. Maybe you should just stop thinking of Winry as a sister and ask her out. And yes, I'm still with the same girl. What's so hard to believe?_

_--Roy_

_P.S. Is everything okay over there? You're handwriting has gotten even worse than usual. _

His handwriting had gotten even worse than usual? What the hell did that have to do with being okay? He hadn't even noticed it had gotten worse. He wasn't rushing when writing it (usually) or anything. Was there some weird connection between the two? Sure, he had to admit, he wasn't exactly in the best of moods but nothing that would come out in a letter. He shook his head; he'd worry about that later.

_Yo, _

_Everyone at the office is fine and say they're happy to hear you can come home. _

_I'm a Lieutenant Colonel and yeah, you're still higher above me. Fuck you. If you really want to know, it's degrading as hell. And no, I don't know why I did. At least it's better than Breda, who didn't get a promotion at all, which is surprising. I still can't believe how many of us got promotions after the new Furher was given office. You, Roy, and Riza make sense. The rest of us don't. It's weird, but whatever. I suppose I shouldn't complain. Beggars can't be choosers. _

_Anyway, on the subject of girls. If you think I would ever even go near Hawkeye with the words 'will you go out with me' in mind, you've finally snapped. She'd miraculously find away to be the first person in history to read minds and shoot me dead. But I did follow your advice about Liesel. I asked her out again. She said yes. So yeah, I have a girlfriend again. And hopefully a girlfriend who will stay my girls friend. The guys in the office have started placing bets. The only one seems to think I can do it for more than a month is Roy, and he says it's only for two weeks. But no, I'll actually keep this girl for once, see where things go. I highly doubt I'll ever get married to her or anything, but I want to at least of a girlfriend who's an actual girlfriend, you know?_

_Being annoyed because of Breda, _

_Havoc_

Well, at least Havoc got the girl. Ed decided he'd write back tomorrow, putting the letters on his end table. Tomorrow was Saturday, so he'd be able to sleep in late. Not that late was ever actually late for him--only about seven. He'd gotten used to so many weird sleeping hours that his body was programed to wake up early. He hated it, but it wasn't a habit he would want to break, either. He was always working or going somewhere for work that waking up early was a good thing. Even here in school it was. He woke up at five on school days, even if he never really did anything until seven at breakfast. All he did after he woke up was take a shower, brush his teeth, and get dressed. He didn't _need _to spend two hours awake before he should, but his body wouldn't let him do anything else. His inner alarm clock was a rather brutal thing.

He curled up tighter, under the covers, trying to get warm. Then he blew out the candle and within half in hour, he was asleep.

* * *

These chapters are getting long. 5,167 words. I was like, whoa when I saved it at the end. Oh well, whatever. This probably has a ridiculous amount of mistakes, but I didn't proofread at all this time. Sorry about that. Well, hope you liked.


	13. Chapter 12

* * *

Hey. Well, here's the new chapter. I should really proofread, shouldn't I? Oh well, let's see where my laziness leads me this time. Oh well, please enjoy chapter 12. =]

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

"Are you going to Hogsmeade today, Professor?" Lindsey Shackler of his fourth-year-class asked, a friend of hers giggling behind her.

"I don't know yet," he asked, a little taken aback. Did this connect to what Hermione, Harry, and Ron had told him? Oh, he dearly hoped not. The last thing he needed was fourteen-year-olds hitting on him in the hallway. A boy behind them rolled his eyes.

"You should really come," she said. Her friend hadn't stopped giggling.

"I have to go grade essays," he said tonelessly instead of answering, disappearing faster than he thought possible. Not that he _had _any essays to grade, but it was an easy enough excuse, as those girls were the _fifth _group to ask him that day, since he first stepped foot out of the Great Hall at eight this morning. This was ridiculous.

"Are going to go to Hogsmeade today?" a voice said behind him. For a moment he debated on ignoring it, but decided against it and turned around warily, prepared to say another, "I have to go grade essays."

"Oh, hey, it's you guys," he said, looking to the three students he could tolerate to talk to outside of class. "What's up?"

"About to go head off," Hermione answered, moving a stray bit of hair off of her face.

"I don't know if I'm going or not. Do teachers normally?" He thought he heard a few teachers discussing it, but wasn't sure. He was still half-asleep. The walls of Hogwarts were think, which was a good thing, seeing as he work up screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night. Not that it was anything unusual, as anyone who knew him well enough would be able to tell.

"All the time," Harry said, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. "You've never been there before, right?"

Ed shook his head. "No, never. I've heard about it, but that's about it." Yes, he had most definitely heard about it and all it's horrible candies.

"Well, you should go," sad Ron. "Find a teacher to show you around. Maybe we'll see you there."

"Yeah, sure, I'll go. See you." They walked off, looking extremely pleased with themselves. Maybe he should start talking to them. He was still wondering, really, if it was okay for a teacher to become friends with students, but decided it probably wasn't. Which sucked, because he didn't talk to most of the staff, and talking to those three were the easiest for some inexplainable reason. Normally he didn't get along with people his own age (mainly because he never spoke to them), but they were considerable more interesting than the teachers, with the exception of Sprout, but she treated him like a grandson. Well, maybe he should go and find her...

With in ten minutes, he did, because she was also planning on going apparently.

"Oh! Edward," she said and called him over, a smile on her face. "I was hoping to see you here. Would you like to come with me?"

He went to go shrug, but then decided against it. "Okay," he said again. "Where are we going?"

They exited, bypassing the Secret Sensors or whatever they were called and going straight outdoors. The cold wind hit him hard. He shivered. For once he was out of his military uniform, in a sweater, a shirt underneath, gloves, and a pair of normal, everyday pants, but he was beginning to wonder if he'd been better off with it on. It was considerably warmer.

"Are you cold?" Sprout asked. "Would you like to go back and get something warmer?" He wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head.

"Don't have anything," he answered as they trudged down the hill, surrounded by students and other teachers. Why, oh why was England so damn cold? "The weather isn't like this in Amestris. Sure, it snows and rains and stuff, but it's generally a lot warmer than this and considerably less damp."

Sprout nodded. "I've never been as far as Amestris. It's further south isn't it?" Ed nodded. "Maybe I should take a visit there some time. I've never been to that area of Europe."

"It's nice," was all he said. They reached the town. On a cheerier day, it probably looked something like a greeting card. "Where are we going?"

"I need to take a quick little trip to Gladrags Wizardwear and then I'll show you around, how about that?" He nodded. "Good, because I need a few new pairs of gloved. Mine wear out quickly when in the greenhouses." Once again, he nodded, not sure what to say to that. "You look gloomy, is anything wrong?"

"Just the weather," he answered, having to raise his voice a little above the wind. It was true after all. That was really the only reason he wasn't acting more excited. He'd been waiting since the first day of term to get out of that school, even just for a few hours. And the opportunity finally presented itself and he felt like he couldn't change his facial expression for fear of it freezing that way.

"Makes sense. Well, here's the store. You'll be warmer now." And she pushed open the door. The effect was instant. It was as if someone had dumped hot water on him. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"So this is what a wizarding clothing store looks like," he said curiously. It was relatively small, all wood, with a counter in the back and shelves stacked with multicolored robes. There were also racks holding gloves, socks, scarves...stuff like that. It looked like a normal clothing store, just with wizardified stuff on sale. Sprout popped up next to him, holding several pairs of black and tan gloves, humming happily to herself. He didn't recognize the tune.

"You should get a scarf," she suggested, a matter-a-fact tone in her voice. "You lips are blue and you cheeks are the brightest red I've ever seen." Then they got even redder and he knew it; he'd blushed.

"I don't have money," he answered awkwardly. "I've never needed to buy anything so I just have Amestris' currency."

"I'll get one for you. They aren't too expensive."

"You don't have to do that," he said quickly.

"Really, I don't mind." Her voice was cheery and she had a wide smile on her face. Ed knew that face instantly. There was going to be no chance of winning an argument. It was winning battle. And, well, he suppose a scarf wouldn't be too bad. He wouldn't look like a complete idiot wearing it either, which was a plus. Everyone else was anyway. "What color do you want?"

"Grey is fine," he answered, still looking around. He felt bad having her buying it (he was usually the one buying things for other people, specifically Winry), but seemed to want to and hey, he shouldn't really complain. Free stuff.

"Thanks," he said as she purchased the items and extracted the scarf from the bag. He took it and wrapped it around his neck, making sure some of it covered his face. They stepped outside. The cold hit him again, coming on full force, as if it wanted revenge on him for going inside. He tucked his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, dear, it's gotten colder hasn't it?" Ed nodded in response, not trusting himself to speak. It felt like his lips were glued shut. "I guess I'll give you a more thorough tour next time. For now, let's just go into the Three Broomsticks. Do you mind?"

"Not in the slightest," he laughed. With that said, he was lead off, weaving in and out of the groups of people, into the Three Broomsticks. It was warm in there, same as back in the clothing shop. He pushed down the scarf so it no longer covered his mouth.

Sprout ordered a mead for herself and butterbeer for Ed. The girl behind the bar gave him a little smile.

"Haven't seen you around here. Did you just get your permission signed?"

"What?"

"Oh, he's a teacher, Rosemerta, not a student. Rosemerta, this Edward Elric, the new Alchemy teacher. Edward, this is Rosemerta, the bartender here at the Three Broomsticks."

"Hi," he said, not sure what else to do as she brought them their drinks.

"Nice to meet you," she answered with a smile. "I'm sorry, you just look so young. I thought you were a fourth-year."

Sprout laughed. Ed gave a quizzical look and felt his cheeks redder again--he was just called a fourteen-year-old. Oh, the joy. "He's sixteen. Too young to be a teacher I say, but he'd good, so I can't complain."

"How'd you manage to teach so young?" she asked as Sprout and Ed took their seat and the bar.

"Pulled the shortest straw," he answered. Rosemerta laughed and Ed knew _exactly _what she was thinking, even so he pretended he was wrong. "They replace the teacher every year and back at home, I was chosen to go. If you ever have to, don't pull straws from a hat. Cheating happens and you ended up getting screwed over and losing."

"I must agree with that," she said and laughed again. "So your in the military then back in Amestris? The teacher last year wasn't nearly as nice. Acted like he grouch when I met him."

"That was Major Jonathan Devlin, right?" Both she and Sprout nodded. "He's always been like that. I met him once, when I was thirteen. He kept on frowning that entire time I was there. At first I thought he didn't like that a thirteen-year-old was the same rank as him. Then I realized he was like that to everyone."

"So you joined when you were thirteen then?" she asked.

"Twelve," Sprout answered for him, which was a good thing, because he'd just taken a rather large drink of butterbeer.

"Oh. It's a good thing you're only sixteen. When Pomona said you were a teacher, all I could think was that you were a little short to be one--"

"I'm not short!" he snapped.

"--but at least you've still got time to grow."

He fell silent and took another sip. Sprout and Rosemerta had begun a different conversation, something involving a troll and a Vanishing spell. When asked to contribute, he would just nod or shake his head because he couldn't follow what they were saying at all. It was gibberish or something.

"_He was nicking Sirius' stuff!" _Ed turned around.

"I know Harry, but please don't shout, people are staring," whispered Hermione. "Go sit down and I'll get you a drink--oh, hi, Professor!" she added brightly when she saw him.

"Hi, Professor," Harry said as well. Ron said hello as well. Ed smiled a little.

"Hey, how's that essay coming along?"

"We finished it," Ron answered. "With Hermione's help of course." The end he said quickly once he saw his friend's face. "We would've been dead with out it."

"It a good thing I take notes, then isn't it?" she demanded. Harry and Ed exchanged a look as they began to bicker.

"Are they dating?" he asked in an undertone so they couldn't hear him. Harry shook his head. He glanced over a Sprout and Rosemerta, surprised they hadn't said hello the the three as well, but saw that Slughorn had joined the conversation.

"Why isn't a lot of it in the book?" Ron asked now that the little argument had ended.

"She got a lot of stuff wrong," he answered with a shrug. "And I've added in a few lessons. So yes, it is good that Hermione takes notes. You too should as well. Just a bit of advice. I think you've noticed, but class isn't exactly easy."

Ron's face went the same color as his hair. Harry snickered and Hermione just looked smug. "Yeah, uh, I will next time."

"So will Harry, right?" Ed's smile turned into a grin. This was payback for them asking so many questions.

Now it was his turn to change the color of turnip. "Yes," he answered.

"So are you glad that you came?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

Ed shrugged. "I guess. I've only been here at that clothing store."

"Gladrags Wizardwear?" Hermione said. Ed nodded. "Oh, Harry, we should get Dobby more socks sometime, don't you think?"

"Who's Dobby?" Ed asked as Harry nodded.

"A house-elf," Ron answered. When he didn't elaborate, Ed realized they assumed he knew what it was.

"What as house-elf?"

Hermione jumped in before the other two could saying, "Their poor creatures forced into slavery by wizarding families and they never get a bit of res--"

The other two groaned. "They're servants," Ron cut in. "They _like _working. Hermione wants to set them all free, but they don't want to be."

"They work down the kitchens," Harry added. "Dobby works down there too."

"Oh. Interesting. Wish I we had something like that in Amestris. My apartments going to be a mess of dust when I get back to Central."

"They shouldn't like working, Ronald!" Hermione persisted, like she hadn't heard what Harry and Ed had been saying. "They should enjoy freedom. All their lives they have been brainwashed into thinking they must serve their masters, but really--"

"I suggest you escape before you're asked to side with one of them," Harry said. Ed looked over. It was a wise bit of advice.

"Right...see you around." He turned to Sprout. "Hey, I'm going to go back up to the castle, I have letters to write."

She looked over, alarmed, as if she'd forgotten he was there. "Will you be able to find your way back by yourself?" she asked. Ed nodded. "Well, see you at dinner then," she said doubtfully.

"Bye," he said, standing up and leaving quickly and began to trudge back up to the school.

His room felt like heaven when he came back. It was warm, warmer than either the Three Broomsticks or Gladrags Wizardwear had been. He breathed a sigh of relief and took of his sweater and scarf, throwing them onto his bed and collapsing into the chair in front of his desk. He took a moment to just sit there, then pulled the letters out along with a pen and few pieces of paper. He started on Al's reply first.

_Dear Al, _

_Become a State Alchemist and I swear to god that I will never talk to you again. _

_Okay, now that I got that point across, yes, I can go home. I'll be spending four or five days there over break, so make sure to tell everyone. I can't wait to see you guys again. I know it's only been two months, but it feels like a lot longer. Seeing everyone'll good. I'm stuck around teachers. I like maybe three and I only talk to one. I talk to the students more than I talk to teachers. Oh, and apparently I have a fan base formed of teenage girls in this school. Are you as disturbed as I am? A group of students warned me and now that I know it, I'm starting to see it. I'm thinking about asking about the secret passages in this school, just so I can avoid them._

_I have no idea why there are newspapers and I haven't gotten around to asking about it yet. I'm not sure if I want him to know I found out about it. _

_Yes, I'm staying safe. Nothing bad's happened yet. _

_Love you, _

_Ed_

He sighed and shivered slightly. The cold had yet to leave his automail. Then, remembering what Roy had written, he checked his hand writing. It looked normal to him. He leaned over and rummaged though his bag, finding his lesson plan and comparing handwriting. His eye widened slightly in surprise, because it really was different. Not drastically so, but it was. But so what? And why tell hell did Mustang even notice it? Ed didn't even. Oh well, the man made no sense.

_Roy--_

_Yes, you did send me to weird place, so thanks for acknowledging it finally. And thanks a lot for saying that you can barely stand me. It means oh-so-much to me. And it's literally overflowing? Oh goddamn, I have a lot. Well, I guess I'll just have to speed through it and not be like a certain someone and procrastinate. This Halloween thing is coming up pretty soon, I think in a week or so. I just got back from the Hogsmeade place. It was okay. I only saw two places. Sprout, the Herbology teacher, bought me a scarf for some reason. Said I looked cold. Which I actually was, but that's besides the point. My automail is cramping up. All the moisture is messing it up, but I think it'll be okay. Or it better be, otherwise Winry will slaughter me. So if I don't show up in Central, you'll know why. _

_He hasn't asked again, but I'm getting a feeling he's going to. Every once in a while, he'll glance over to me during one of the meals. I guess he's trying to find something out through observation? I don't know, and I'm finding that I don't really care. But I agree with you, I shouldn't tell until I'm asked again. I don't exactly want to go out of my way to repeat the entire story for what, the fiftieth time? And I've decided I'm not going to ask him how he found out, because if I did actually let something slip when I was first here to imply that I could, I'll feel like an idiot having it pointed out. I'm almost positive I didn't, though. I'm starting to get the feeling the man can read minds or something. But who know, they can do everything here, can't they? And if I am fired, send Breda or Havoc. Fuery won't be able to handle the kids because they can get pretty out of hand some times. All I have to do is scare them by putting a wall through the middle of the floor or something. I've separated rows before until they've shut up. It's effective to say the least._

_I'm not going to stop thinking of Winry of sister. I grew up with her. She saw me half dead when I was ten after all that stuff happened. I slept in her house for year and when I was younger I slept next her. Dating her would be weird. But maybe Grace or Abigail. I can't believe I just asked you to play matchmaker. Don't. Please. Knowing you, you'll fuck everything over just for the sake of doing so. _

_--Ed_

_P.S. What does my handwriting have to do with anything?_

He reread his letter. He decided to leave out that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the ones who told them. Why, he didn't know. But he did stupid things that made no sense sometimes. It wouldn't have been the first time. And it wasn't exactly crucial.

_Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Havoc,_

_Sorry, I couldn't resist. _

_You got the girl? Wow, I'm shocked. I wasn't actual expecting her to agree. Maybe your bad luck is finally letting up. Oh, speaking of which, I accidently forgot about your advice. I feel like an idiot. I didn't realize it until just now. This Liesel is the one I was talking about, right? You didn't answer if she was or wasn't. And now that I think about it, you're probably right. Riza would shoot you death in all likeliness. I think it would second to only asking out Roy, would would burn you to crisp. But Liesel's okay. The little brother of the unit gives his approval. _

_Question: What would you do teenage girls surrounded suddenly, giggling and acting like your the new week's love interest? I've started noticing it today. Someone pointed it out to me and now I can't run away from it. I had a group thirteen-year-old girls borderline flirting with me. Naturally I hightailed out of there as soon as I good, where I was cornered by a group fourth-years. Oh, and today the bartender of a place in town asked if I was a student. _

_What do I do?,_

_Ed_

He quickly put them in envelopes and left, heading up to the owlry and forcing himself through the crowd of returning students.

* * *

Poppy got the knock on the door and two in the morning, causing both worry and annoyance. It was very rare she got a knock on the door at two in the morning, and on those rare incidences, it's always either something that was trivial and could easily wait for normal hours, or something incredibly urgent and rather dangerous to go unattended. The knock came again.

"Oh, I'm coming, I'm coming," she said, yawning into her hand and feeling very irritated indeed. Whether urgent or trivial, why couldn't said ailment have waited until morning? Preferably after breakfast when she was all nice and awake and fed and perfectly cheerful to take care of a person. And especially after today and the whole incident with Katie...oh, the poor girl was lucky she hadn't died. If they hadn't gotten her to the hospital when they did, she might not have made it either way.

And now, after a very tiring day, she was stuck getting a knock at two in the morning.

She bushed open the door, face of annoyance perfectly planted there already as to show how little she wanted to be bothered. Beyond the windows, the sky was dark and the moon covered by clouds. It was near impossibly to see outside.

"Hi, a good morning. I would've have come but, um, you see, I'm--"

"Out of bandages. Again," she answered for the boy--teacher, the face of annoyance not having to change to that of worry after all. It was only October and this had to be what, the third, fourth time he'd come down here? Generally not this late at night, that was to be sure. But _why _did he need to come? He had yet to explain it to her and perhaps that was the most irksome of all. "Well, come on then. I would like to get back to sleep, though you seem perfectly awake, oh what I would love to be as young as you again, able to be awake all night, but at least I could take care of myself at that age, and did not need to repeatedly see the nurse at ungodly hours when I was teacher myself and more than capable of conjuring up bandages on me own, and..." Everything after was just mumbled nothing, created in her crankiness. Poppy wasn't a morning person ordinarily, and being woke up from a rather deep slumber and nice dream which involved her seventh year boyfriend and back massage just made all the wickedness she didn't naturally posses to come raise its ugly head.

"I can't conjure anything," Edward awkwardly pointed out from behind her, clutching his side and wincing occasionally while he walked. Whatever do this boy do to cause wounds that constantly reopened? "I could transmute, but that only gives so much and I don't really have the right materials...I like my sheets staying my sheets." He yawned, but it turned into cough.

"Fine, I'll give them to you," she said, snapping more than she meant to. "But you could at least let me look at them. Then I'll be able to heal you and know what I'm constantly supplying my bandages for. Then you won't even need them."

"No," he answered bluntly. "I can't show you. All I need are the bandages. Then I'll leave and you can go back to sleep and try not to roll over onto a pen I didn't realize was there."

"Oh, so it opened because of a writing utensil, did it?" she asked indignantly. "And why won't you let me heal them? Do you believe I'm incompetent as a healer? I'll have you know that Albus personally asked me to take the job after my training was done."

"No, I don't doubt anything," he said warily as she conjured up the bandages. Despite wanting to go back to bad, she did much appreciate being able to verbally abuse him, which she couldn't do on normal students. Oh, to teachers she did it all time, and what mattered if he was only sixteen? He was still a teacher and therefore she could get testy. "Just these cuts can only be healed naturally."

"And how to you know that?" she snapped, shoving the bandages into his arms--well, arm, as one was still holding his side. And who came fully dressed, with gloves and everything down to the nurse's station at two in the morning? He easily could've come in pajamas, but no, he apparently wanted to cover up what damage was done for whatever reason and it irritated her to no end.

"I can't explain it," he answered. "I just know, and thank you for the bandages. I'll hopefully never you because of this again. Have fun sleeping." And with that he walked away, opening the door with the hand that had recently been holding his side and closing it with his foot. She waited until his foot stepped died away to walk up to the door, which wasn't fully closed. Her hand went towards the knob and stopped.

It was covered in blood. Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise. And she'd thought he'd just been melodramatic, but here was evidence against it. Edward was wearing a good two layers and for the blood the seep through both materials and create an excess amount enough to overflow what was absorbed into the gloves, whatever wound it was must have been pretty bad. Her forehead crinkled, now worried. Why wouldn't he let her see what was causing it? Was it done by Dark Magic?

_Oh, don't be ridiculous, Poppy, _she thought to herself, _he's not even a wizard. Dark Magic has nothing to do with it. _

Even so, what could be the cause? She withdrew her hand and extracted her wand, whisking away the blood and putting it out of her wind. She grabbed the knob and pulled it closed with a rather decisive click.

* * *

Harry and his friends took their front row seats, feeling incredibly awkward as one sat on either side of him. Hermione looked bewildered and hurt and Ron was giving her the cold shoulder for reasons she didn't know. But how was he supposed to explain to her that it was because she kissed Viktor Krum in their fourth year? So he decided to help it rest and hope that he got over it so they could all be friends again. Ron was acting a bit irrational, but he was always liked that. Harry prayed it would pass and looked ahead at his lesson, pulling out his quill and paper. Ed looked about as tired as he felt.

"Today's review," he said, leaning back against the chalkboard. Review? They only did review before tests, but he hadn't mentioned any coming up. "But first everyone come up and put your essays on my desk. Make sure your name is on it and stack one on top of the other. You know the drill."

Everyone stood up, grabbing their essays and hurrying to the front. By the time Harry got up to it, he realized that 'stacking one on top of the other' wasn't exactly working. There were papers all over the desk. Ed sighed and ran his hands over his face, obviously realizing the same thing. Hermione came up and fixed them just as Ed made a move to. Then put hers on top of Harry's and Ron's and went back to her seat. The two boys followed suit. Once everyone was sitting down, the lesson began.

"There's a test on Thursday," he said, still leaning against the board, arms crossed over his chest. "On Law of Conservation of Mass and Law of Natural Providence. There will also be second on Equivalent Exchange, since it relates to the subject. And if anyone gets that second wrong, I have all the right in the world to believe you have the intelligence of a rock for the rest of the year. We've been going over it since day one. Call out the answer: what's Equivalent Exchange?"

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return," half the class said together, voices monotone, Harry included. He highly doubted that anyone in the class could possibly get that wrong. It'd been so drilled into their heads by now that Harry could repeat it into his sleep. It was also probably the easiest thing to remember in this class, which was a good thing, seeing as the entire class was based off of memorization. And note taking, which neither Harry or Ron were too good at.

"Yeah, you got it right. Someone tell me what the Law of Natural Providence is?" Hermione's hand shot up faster than anyone else's in the room, not that many people's hands went up at all. "Okay, Hermione, what is it?"

"It means that you can't conjure something out of thin air, unlike in magic, when that's required."

"Perfect," he said, though for once he didn't give the huge smile had always had when someone got an answer right. He looked as exhausted and Lupin did right before and after the full moon. "Can someone _other _than Hermione tell me what the Law of Conservation of Mass means? Please tell me that she isn't the only one know knows." He paused. A few hands went up. "Draco, can you tell me? You seem to not being paying any attention. Prove me wrong." Harry almost laughed; this was pay back for the comment Malfoy said yesterday; he could tell because Ed gave the first hint of smile, which was almost more of a smirk.

"It relates to Equivalent Exchange," he mumbled.

"How so?"

"Change must be Equivalent?"

"Yes, but you should probably thank Zabini for telling you the answer." The Gryffindors laughed and Malfoy's cheeks flushed pink. "Name at least one component of the human body. On the test, you'll only have to answer one thing, but know the entire make up by the time final rolls around, though I don't think it'll take eight months for you to memorize it. Seamus, can you tell me one?"

"There's thirty-five liters of water," he answered.

"I see that you natural chose the easiest answer. Not that I mind. I would've done the same thing. Harry, have you got one?"

He was so taken a back by being asked an answer that it took him a second to even remember what the question was. "There's trace amounts of fifteen other elements," he answered quickly.

"And so you take the second easiest. Pansy, tell me one."

"There's two hundred grams of salt."

"Wrong, but close enough. Lavender, what's the actual measurement?"

"Two hundred and fifty."

"Correct." Harry turned around and saw that the small Slytherin group looked mutinous. "Hermione?"

"Fluorine, seven point five grams." The smile came out, but Harry noticed that it looked a little different--he still looked completely exhausted. What happened?

The class review continued until the bell. Everything from last Thursday seemed to be one it, not just the the three Laws they were supposed to be learning. He even taught something new--the combustion of oxygen to create a large fire after a single spark is made. The notes were so long his hand was cramping.

"Was it just me, or was that class harder than usual?" Ron said as they entered Charms, shaking his head. "Reviews are generally easy."

"There was a lot more material to cover today," Hermione answered. Ron acted as if he didn't hear her.

"Yeah, but at least our only homework is to study. I was expecting to have another essay or something," Harry said. They both nodded in agreement.

"He was acting a bit strange though. Do you think--" But she was cut off as Flitwick called for quiet.

They didn't have another chance to talk about it, though, as they were working on nonverbal spells, causing much progress not to be made.

* * *

I once again didn't have enough time to proofread, as my mom is on her way home and she'll need the computer. So please ignore mistakes and I hope you enjoyed it anyway. =]


	14. Chapter 13

Hey, what's up? I feel like it's been a while since I wrote last. I'll be counseling in camp again for the week, but I'll write as often as I can. =] First line of Al's letter is dedicated to Sil.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

_Dear Brother,_

_I thought you didn't believe in God, Brother._

_But would you really never talk to me again? I guess I just shouldn't join. It's great that you're coming home though. I told Teacher. She said she'd come, Sig too. Winry and Pinako were really happy to find out. Oh, and Winry's really mad at you for not writing. I think she thinks that you forgot about her or something. I can't wait to see you. And it's good to know that our company is a lot better than a few boring old teachers. _

_You have a fanbase? Really? That's a creepy as the news papers. Why, though? You're the teacher, they shouldn't like you! So to answer you question, yes, I am as disturbed as you are. Be careful for that too, then because who knows what the kids in that school can do. _

_It's really good that you're okay. Everyone here is worried that you'll get hurt or something. _

_Love, _

_Al_

Ed sighed. He felt extremely...guilty. '_Everyone here is worried that you'll get hurt or something.' _Well, he couldn't exactly tell them how often he would wake up to find himself bleeding or realize that he was in the middle of class or at dinner or somewhere. They were worried enough as it was; they didn't need to worry anymore. He was fine, really. It was just the aftermath of bringing back Al and that he could deal with. He already knew it wasn't going to kill him and the wounds was gradually healing...despite how often they liked to split back open. He was hoping he wouldn't have to worry about band-aids on his face or body wrapped in bandages, but he'd deal. His entire life he'd been going through stuff like this. It was nothing new. Now only if Al would understand that. It was Al they should he worrying about, not him. Al was still recovering from being brought back. He leaned his cheek on his left hand. It itched.

At the moment he just wanted to bury his head in his arms on the desk and fall asleep. He hadn't slept well again the night before. But no, he couldn't, because he was the teacher and his students were all taking tests. From what it looked like, most were having trouble. But it was a hard test, he'd done it on purpose. He'd never pretended this class was easy, so the people who thought it was and didn't take notes were suffering. And yet only four people had a Poor or below. Maybe he was going to easy? Oh, what the hell. This subject shouldn't even be taught to them--they didn't need it. And he could be anything half the class was putting: _Water, 35 liters _on their tests. He supposed he sprung that on them to early. Memorizing the components quickly had been easy for him when he learned it, but it was his obsession, while these kids just needed to learn it to pass the class. It was a good lesson, though, he supposed. He was able to explain what Kimblee did anyway. Luckily none of these kids could do alchemy, or they might get it inside their heads to try Human Transmutation. Learning it was completely harmless and he was profoundly happy for this. Vaguely, he wondered if anyone could bring the dead back with magic. He dismissed this thought the moment it came--he knew they couldn't. Probably the furthest they could get was a soul tie or something, if even that. Since there was no Equivalence involved, bring the dead back would be easy if you were skilled enough, but he saw no dead-now-alive people walking around. The only thing he heard of that was similar to that were these things called Inferi, which he, after reading the description, quickly considered to be zombies' retarded cousin.

"Um, you're doodling arrays all over your desk, Professor," a voice said from above him. He jumped and looked down the the pieces of paper in front of him--not Al's letter, luckily. "You might blow something up with that one." She pointed down at one that was slightly the more complicated ones he'd drawn near the simpler ones he'd always been drawing. He felt slightly surprised. He hadn't even realized he'd still had the pen in his hand.

"Oh, thanks, Hermione," he said, accepting the test. He smiled. "I hadn't noticed. But a point to Gryffindor for recognizing it on sight." She blushed.

"Thank you," she said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did. Can it wait till after class?"

"Yeah." She turned go sit down and she went back to grading his paper, a sudden thought dawning in mind.

Did other kids find it weird they stopped and talked to him? He didn't think so--it didn't look like many people noticed. Most were just hurrying out of here as soon as they could, especially on Thursdays, since after this there was only one class period left then the rest of the day free. He looked out the window. His head hurt, but he ignored it. He looked down at the paper in front of him. There were arrays all over it. He took the pen and crossed them all out before he put his hand down by accident. Then he looked down and started grading Hermione's paper. A perfect Outstanding as usual. And she didn't put down _Water, 35 liters._ He repressed a smile and yawned into his hand and went back to looking out the window, thoughts wondering back to before. How many witches and wizards had tried to bring people back to life? Probably a lot. How many died? Very few, he guessed, unless the spell backfired on them or something. Alchemy, though, that could. Tons of people had tried. Most either chickened out or failed without doing anything. Others had done it successfully, but nothing was produced from it and just hurt them instead. He, Al, and Izumi were all examples. But that didn't mean that Human Transmutation was completely impossibly. Difficult, but not entirely impossible. He'd pulled it off, as had his dad, though for different purposes. It was absolutely horrible, even to think about. But had been his obsession before he tried to bring Mom back.

Was it weird then, that he was still obsessed with it? He would never try again, never, but that didn't stop him thinking about it when he woke up in the middle of the night for whatever reason. He'd found himself doodling the array he'd used on Al during those times when he couldn't fall back to sleep. And, as much as he hadn't to say it, he also found himself perfecting it. Being cooped up in one place for so long was making him go crazy. He had nothing else to do, so he fell onto illegal material that he would never use anyway.

Someone else slipped him a test and he started checking it. Right after that a pile built itself up, which was good, because all he could concentrate on correcting answers instead of letting his thoughts wonder. Oh, want small mercies.

Just as he'd expected, very few people put down something other than _Water, 35 liters_, but even so, everyone got it right. Next time he put it on a test, he should tell them to put down anything but that. None of the trio did though: Ron put _carbon 20 kilograms_, Harry put _lime, 1.5 kilograms, _and Hermione, naturally, put_ silicon, 3 grams_, which was one everyone always seemed to forget. He smiled slightly. Either they felt like be being risky (which he doubted), or they figured they realized how much it would annoy him. And if so, they were right.

The bell rang and he jumped, hitting his elbow on the table. He winced--it was his funny bone. Why even call it a funny bone? It didn't make you laugh. Cry if you weren't used to pain, but not laugh. The body parts of a human body had truly ridiculous names.

"Everyone who hadn't finished, hand it up here. Turn it in incomplete." A few students with very glum faces came up, handing in tests. Ed felt slightly guilty; the last problem was already half finished. "Here, take a moment to write that last sentence," he said, handing it over. Draco mumbled a 'thanks' under his breath and scribbled down the last line. He looked down. Well, he got it right. If Ed hadn't let him finish, it wouldn't been counted wrong. A pretty good answer too. He quickly hurried away.

"I'll see you in Snape's," he heard Ron mumbled to Harry as he left--completely ignoring Hermione. What the hell happened? From what he managed to gather, these three were inseparable.

"What did you guys wanna ask?" he said

"Actually, it was a lot less of an asking than a telling..." Harry began. Ed felt confused.

"Again? Is still about the same thing as last time."

Hermione sighed. "This takes a lot less explaining. I would have told you when I was handing in my test, which I suppose I should have, but I'm quite sure if you'd want other people to notice." She pointed down to the glove on his left hand, his real hand.

"Shit," he swore and tore it off. There was a cut across the top of his hand and it had reopened. He hadn't bandaged that area, not realizing that it needed to be since it hadn't been open before this. All it had to soak through were the gloves. And now it was bleeding. For a moment he just stared at it, wondering why the hell the cuts kept doing this. Was it the Gate's idea of a sick joke? It made no sense, goddamn it! The doctors said it would heal overtime, same with the cuts he had internally, but they didn't. At least the surface cuts. But then what about the internal cuts? Oh well, he'd just have to pray nothing happened to those.

"Ed, what happened to you hand?" cried Hermione, snapping him out of it. He'd completely forgotten that they were there. "You should go see Madame Pomfry!"

How could he get out of this one? "No, it's okay, really, just a small cut, maybe you should go onto class. I should go put something one this." He slipped the glove back on and shot them a smile, hoping to escape before the questioning got any worse. These three were already suspicious of him, though of what they had no idea. He took a deep breath, making sure to keep it quiet.

"That doesn't exactly look small," Harry pointed out. "I think Hermione's right. You should get that checked out before it becomes inspected."

"I've already been to her." It was a lie, not really. "She said it was fine, that I would just have to keep something on it." And that one was a blatant lie. "Which I will, when you leave, since I'm not allowed to leave students alone in the classroom." He quickly ushered them out, planning on going to opposite reaction. He hoped they would have enough time, because if it was extremely far away they were fucked.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hermione asked before they turned to leave.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He moved his hair from his face with his automail arm. "Perfectly fine. But I'd appreciate if you didn't mention this to anyone. Now I have to leave before my next class comes." And with that, he scurried away, leaving them flabbergasted behind him.

* * *

"That was absolutely bizarre," Hermione said to Harry (Ron had mysteriously disappeared) as they walked away, heading back to the common room from Defense Against the Dark Art's room. They'd had to hurry on the way there, so they had no chance to talk. Snape would take any chance he could to take off points from Gryffindor and they didn't want to give him the excuse. "He panicked the moment he saw."

Harry nodded. "It makes sense for him to worry, but not that much. I wonder what he hasn't told us--or Dumbledore. I think he doesn't know much more than we do."

Hermione stared. "How can you be sure? I know you told us that he didn't know anything about why he can transmute without an array, but you don't know if he was telling the truth. And he must know other things..."

"I don't think so, otherwise why the newspapers?" Hermione paused.

"You do have a point," she said. "You think he would know more, though, consider that he's on the staff. Maybe that's why he panicked. He must think we're going to tell Dumbledore."

Harry bit his lip. Should he? He wasn't sure. Getting Ed in trouble wasn't something he wanted to do, because what if it was bad? But it was really important, then he should tell. "What do you think?"

"I think we shouldn't mention it," she answered, much to Harry's surprise. "I would feel bad if it was nothing major and became blown out of proportion. Then it would be all our fault. And I don't think it could be anything dangerous, like Dark Magic. He isn't a wizard and he's relatively naive when it comes to our world."

"You're right. It probably happened back in his country and he just doesn't like to talk about it. He said he was in the military, so it must have been related to one of the things he had to do for it."

"So you aren't going to tell?"

Harry shook his head. "Let's just keep it between ourselves and Ron."

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Why is Ron avoiding me and acting like I have the plague?"

Harry spit out some of the pumpkin juice he'd been drinking. He'd brought it up from the Great Hall and was no regretting it, since he very narrowly stopped himself from hitting Hermione and putting it back in the cup. He looked over. She looked worried and slightly miserable because she didn't know what was going on. He sighed, knowing he couldn't tell her the truth.

"I don't know," he said.

She gave him a look that clearly said 'did you really think I was going to believe that?'. "Oh, so you're saying he's doing this all because he's grumpy, is that it?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess. He gets like that occasionally, always has."

"So now you're saying that he's a bit moody as of the past week?"

Another shrug. "I suppose."

"Harry, you're basically saying he's getting his period."

For a moment the two of them tried to keep a straight face, but then they just laughed.

* * *

Ed had just finished wrapping the up the cut on his hand when there was a rapping sound on the window. He look up, jumping again, which he seemed to be doing lately. The owl he'd used to send the letters to Roy and Havoc were back. Quickly, he hurried over, opening up the window to let the ruffled little owl in. It landed on his desk and dropped the letters there before flying off, back through the open window. He shut it, keeping all the cold air out. Walking over, he opened the letters and sat down, deciding to just read right now and write back later, because dinner was in about twenty minutes and he actually wanted to eat...something, whatever was edible. That, and he felt like being lazy.

_Fullmetal--_

_Herbology? Let me guess, it works with magical plants. I didn't even know there was such thing as a magical plant. _

_You shouldn't worry about your automail. You have enough on your mind already. It'll be fine once you get back to Amestris, I'm sure. You would probably notice if it was bad enough to leave lasting damage, wouldn't you? And your automail absorbs your body heat on cold days, of course you looked cold. It's a good thing that she got you a scarf. I don't exactly want my subordinate to die on a mission that involves nothing but annoyance and lesson plans. And, from what Havoc tells me, getting hunted down by fan girls. _

_Speaking of which, I will be perfectly willingly help you find a date if you need it. Consider this an honor, because I don't say that to just about everyone. I'm not sure how I'd go about it yet, since I'd be doing this for someone half my age, but I'd figure out a way. It's not like I have anything else to do besides paperwork and there's a lot of that. And if I write to you during work, it's one of the few times I won't have a gun pointed at my head for not doing it. So thank you in aiding me in my ways of procrastination. _

_We've talked about what to with the situation involving your files. And if the man can read minds, I wouldn't be surprised. He's supposed to be absolutely brilliant from what I heard. I'll keep that in mind about Fuery, though. You're right, he probably wouldn't be able to handle a classroom full of kids. Using a tactic like what you're doing sounds like pretty good idea. So what've you been teaching them, anyway?_

_Now about your handwriting. When something's wrong or you're in a bad mood, it gets worse. Not by much, most people wouldn't notice it, but it does. I've just decided to never mention it to you. And there's no need to deny that something's bothering you, because I can tell the difference between that kind of bad handwriting and what happens when you rush. You've been doing it since you were twelve. How do you think I was always able to tell that you left something bad out of your reports? Unlike Dumbledore, I can't read minds. So just cough it up: what's wrong? _

_--Roy_

_P.S. I'll be able to figure out if you're telling the truth. _

Ed stared. There was nothing else that he could do. He read and reread the last paragraph and good four or five times. Roy knew him well enough to tell by his _handwriting_? Not even Ed himself had noticed. This was ridiculous. And there was no way he could lying, because it was true, Roy could always tell when he left something bad out without reading the reports yet. He always thought it was written all over his face, even if he was absolutely positive there was no way someone could see through it. So it was all because of his handwriting? Oh god, he'd just figure this out after dinner.

_Yo, _

_Shut up. Just, don't mention it. You're evil, you know that? I'm still ten years older than you, so don't go rubbing my rank in my face. Sure, I was hoping for a higher promotion, but if you really think about it, I made a higher leap through ranks than you did. I was just lower than you already. Yeah. _

_But yes, she is the Liesel you're thinking about. The only girl I have ever dated who's under five four. Not that I'm complaining. She's good the way she is. Oh, and you're an idiot for forgetting my advice. For revenge of not listening to me, I told Roy about your fan girls. I don't think I've seen him laugh that much in years. And please, never put the mental image of me asking out Roy in my head ever again. I think you've scarred me for life. _

_Answer: I have no idea. I'd run like hell, but you can't. It would be the giggling that got to me I think. I can't deal well with giggling. That's what I like about Liesel; she rarely ever giggles. When girls giggle it makes me think that they're up to something. So dodge them whenever you can. That's really the only advice I have. You don't really want to get completely cornered. _

_Finishing up this letter, _

_Havoc _

Run like hell. Hm. He'd been trying that. Maybe he'd just have to try a little harder. He checked the time. Dinner was in five minutes. Damn, he really didn't want to miss it. He quickly got up, stuffed the letters in his desk and left, once again pushing his way through the crowd of students until he split off from the group and took the other route, ending up in his usual seat next to Sprout at the table.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully as he sat down. "How had your day been?"

"Pretty okay, how about yours?" he asked as he took the only thing on the table that actually tasted somewhat okay. In his personal Hell, the food would be kidney pie, he was sure of it. Sure, there was probably some stuff here that tasted really good, he was just too afraid of trying anything.

"Oh, it's been great. All my lessons worked out wonderfully today." Well, that explained the happy face.

"That's good," he answered as he began to eat. Well, eating was the wrong word. It was more like he picked at the food. Suddenly he didn't feel much like eating. In fact, he felt a bit queasy. He looked down his gloves and realized something horrible: he hadn't changed them. The blood was still there, perfectly visible. Hoping she wouldn't notice too much, he pushed the food away like he was done and put his hands on his lap.

"Are you coming down to the Halloween feast tomorrow?" she asked. Luckily, she hadn't seen his glove. Thank god.

"Yeah," he answered. "It'll be my first Halloween, actually."

"Oh! I forgot how different Amestris is from here. I never seem to remember that we have different holidays. Well, the Halloween feast is usually very good, except for five years ago of course."

"What happened five years ago?"

"A troll was let into the dungeon." She just said that so...casually. Was this a normal occurrence in this school? He hoped not.

"That's, um, not good. How'd you get rid of it?"

"Three students knocked it out when one went looking for it. The other two went and saved her. I believe you have them in your class. Potter, Granger, and Weasley. They're in your sixth year class, yes?"

He nodded. So they knocked out a troll...interesting. "Yeah, they're in one of the better classes."

Sprout nodded and began to hum, giving herself a second helping as Ed looked forlornly at his food, which would never be eaten. He couldn't risk his glove being seen and he couldn't take it off because then the actual cut was there, which was worse them her seeing the blood.

"Why aren't you eating?" she asked curiously.

"Upset stomach," he half lied.

"Maybe you should lie down, dearie. If your getting sick, you should get your rest. Or you could just go to Poppy again."

Ed paused. "What?"

"Poppy, the nurse," she answered. "You've been to her before, haven't you? She was saying how just the other day how you came down for bandages again."

"Was she?" he said weakly. Of course she would tell, she was friends with the staff! And it wasn't like he never asked her for secrecy.

"Yes. She's very worried about whatever you have, said you go through what she gives you too quickly to be a good thing."

"O-oh. Well, I'm fine. I've told her that before. Just got a bit banged while working in the military." And so he spun his little web of lies. He sighed, feeling somewhat bad. Ed wasn't much of a liar by nature, but here he seemed to be telling one every few ours.

Sprout shook her head. "I'm not going to bother to ask, because you won't tell me will you?"

He shook his head and mumbled, "Classified." She sighed.

"I can't believe they allowed you in. You must have seen too much for you age."

"Yeah, well, you get used to it. Sure, it isn't exactly pleasant, but you get...used to it. I think I'm going to follow your advice and go back to my room." He slid his hands in his pockets as he got up, leaving quickly, breathing a sigh of relief at getting away from questions. Questions were things he was a learning to hate here.

"Oh, that poor boy," he thought he heard as he slipped away and grimaced. He wasn't a big fan of people feeling bad for him.

And, "Oh, yes, that poor, poor boy," another voice answered. He didn't bother to look back see who.


	15. Another Author

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----

**Author's Note**

Hey, guys. I'm sick again. Sucks, right? It's summer and I've already been sick

twice. So, my concentration is shot, but

I'll update soon.

---

Promise. =]

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	16. Chapter 14

Hey, sorry for the delay. I got sick and had camp all in the same week. =[ And then got even sicker. Not a good two weeks, I assure you. My mom is always using this laptop and I have summer homework that I need to do, but I'll try and update as much as possible, I swear. Oh, and for the record, that last line wasn't meant to be important, but I'll make it so if you want. I warn you that Dumbledore will get extremely nosy in this chapter. I couldn't think of anything to do (go honesty), so if it annoys you or something, I give you permission to tell me. I won't take offense.

I don't own FMA or Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

_Dear Al AND Winry,_

_Hey, I'm sorry for not writing to you. I've just been really busy lately, so it's hard to reply to tons of letters, since I'm also writing to Mustang and Havoc at the office. I'll find a way to make it up to you, I promise. And if you want, you can laugh at me because of my fan club. I've done a pretty good job of avoiding them, mostly by trying to ignore them. So yeah, I'm really sorry. I'll just double up letters for now I suppose. It's easier that way. _

_Al, I don't know why they bother with liking a teacher. It's not like they have a chance. Besides, I'm gone by the end of the year anyway. They haven't really pulled anything yet, but I'll be on my guard. I've been warned about some of the things they can do by a few students. The ones that I like, I mean. _

_And hey, I'm fine. Don't worry. I've told you this before. _

_Love, _

_Ed_

_Hey, _

_Whatever. So we're on even ground, I suppose. Even so, I do like my authority. Not that I ever use it. So I guess it doesn't matter either way._

_I'm about to have my first Halloween. I feel like a little kid saying that. But I saw the Great Hall (the place where everyone eats), and it looks really cool. There are these floating pumpkins with faces on them and these bats that I could swear are real. Dinner's in about ten minutes so I better finish this up quickly. It doesn't really look good when a teacher's late. _

_I can't deal with giggling either. I hate it. It's all high pitched and fake-attention-seeking sounding. I don't get how girls do it. At least Winry doesn't. I have yet to be trapped and I'm praying it won't happen anytime soon (or ever), but run like hell seems like a good idea to me. _

_And hey, do my a favor and tell Roy that yeah, it has to do with plants and to wait until my break before playing matchmaker. I have to tell him something else in his letter, so it'd be better if you could just do it for me. And check to see if he laughs after he reads my letter. Thanks. _

_Running late, _

_Ed _

Ed shoved his letters into envelopes and left them lying on the desk, deciding not to mail them until he wrote back to Roy, which he would do after dinner, or tomorrow or something. He could try to make something up, but if what he said was true, Ed had no chance at lying. So why bother trying? He would just write it later.

"Doesn't it look wonderful?" asked Sprout as he sat down, looking out across the Hall. It really did, better than before now that all the tables were ladened with food. He grabbed what he usually ate for dinner and double checked his hands, extremely paranoid that his sleeve rolled up and his automail was visible or there was blood on one of them. There was nothing; he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it really does," he answered, smiling widely. "My last class kept counting down how long until it ended so they could get down here. I didn't realize that Halloween was such a big thing here."

"It really wasn't meant to be, I don't think," she said, taking a bite of whatever she was eating. "But kids will do anything for candy, even at this age."

Ed laughed. "Not to mention the sugar rush that follows."

"I suppose that too. So how does your stomach feel today?"

Stomach feel...oh yeah! He'd lied. The worst part about lying was remembering what it was in the first place. "Oh, it's better. Must've been a twenty-four hour thing."

"That's good to hear. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to enjoy all the Halloween sweets."

Sweets. Yeah. He didn't really want a hold burned though his mouth. But there really wasn't a tactful way to say that. He took up the time thinking to eat something. It was good that he finally found something he liked, because he'd dropped a lot of weight in the past few weeks, and he'd never been all that big in the first place. This damn school was tearing him to pieces. If only he'd cheated a bit more and won the largest straw instead of Falman. Then Armstrong would be the one here. He sighed inwardly. Oh well, it wasn't like he could turn back time. And he'd already spent two months here--he should probably stop complaining.

"I'm not too big on sweets," he said. "Never really have been either." He shrugged. There was a pause. Ed didn't know what to say and Sprout apparently didn't either.

"So how are your friends back in Amestris?" she asked, cheerful sounding as always. That's why he didn't mind talking to her; she always seemed happy.

"They're fine," he answered. "My brother Al's staying with a friends of ours and he seems pretty happy there. And the other two are officers like me. Havoc, he's a lower rank than me, finally got himself a girlfriend and Roy, my superior officer, is trying to avoid paperwork as usual. Besides Havoc getting a girlfriend, nothing much has changed."

"You call your superior by his first name?" She sounded surprised; most people were, when they realized it. "I thought everyone was referred to as last when in the army."

Ed shook his head. "Usually," he explained. "And I didn't used to. I call everyone else by their last, but we ended on friends terms a while back, so don't ask how, but it just happened. He still address my letters as Fullmetal, but he actually calls me by my name too. Fullmetal's my State Alchemist title," he added at the end, not sure if she remembered him saying it at the beginning meeting.

Sprout nodded as the main course was replaced by desert. Her face brightened with a smile and she immediately dug in. Well, someone had a sweet tooth.

"Are you sure?" she asked, indicating all the wizarding candy that covered the table in a colorful variety. He shook his head.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired," he answered, seeing Slughorn look over, shocked. His plate looked like it had exploded into a mess of sugary goodness. Okay, perhaps Ed had lied when he denied his like of all such things, but the sight of that almost made him feel sick. "I think I'm going to had out. Bye."

He immediately stood up.

"Are you sure?" she asked, surprised. He nodded. "You always leave meals so quickly..."

A smile lit up his face, the one he always used to take people off guard. Winry had complained how well it worked on numerous occasions and Sprout hadn't seen it enough look past it. "I eat pretty fast, and I'm not one to stick around. See you tomorrow. Enjoy your chocolate frogs!" And with that he left before she could say anything else to delay him. What to do? He wasn't really all that tired. He sighed.

Well, back to array drawing, he supposed.

* * *

Pomona watched as he left, shocked at his abrupt departure. She was beginning to wonder if he had anything wrong with him besides that physical problems. Being introduced into the world of adult so early could very easily left him mentally scarred. Shaking her head, she realized that she was being ridiculous. It didn't matter, because even if that was true, it meant he needed a friend and she would be happy to fill in that space, even though he seemed a little withdrawn.

"Pomona, Albus is gesturing for you to sit next to him," Severus said next to her, causing her to jump. When she looked over, she saw that the headmaster was indeed trying to catch her eye.

"Thank you, Severus," she answered, giving him a small smile and discreetly moving her seat. "You wanted to see me, Albus?" she asked, slightly concerned that he wanted to talk to her now rather than later in his office.

"How are you today?" he greeted serenely.

"Very good, and very filled. And you?"

"I must say that I'm quite in the same state. Now, is it okay if I were to ask you something?"

"Yes, of course," she answered politely, very confused. There was a pause.

"It's about Edward." Pomona was expecting this, for it very strange that he didn't call her over until after he left. But what was so important that it needed to be asked now? "Have you noticed anything particularly unusual about him? Information on him is very difficult to gather, and it's causing me to feel quite worried."

She nodded, for it was very understandable. "Not a lot," she answered honestly. "He doesn't talk much about himself, and when he does, it's very little. And the moment the conversation turns to him, he changes the subject. He often claims to be tired, but rarely looks it."

"Do you know the reason why he leaves?"

"Either he says he's tired, he's sick, or he has to write a letter to someone back in Amestris. Usually, he's sick. I don't think he's in good health."

"Yes, I've heard that from Poppy."

"Apparently he need bandages a lot. He says it's something he developed from work."

"I'm sorry to be rather nosy about this and drag you in, but he talks mainly to you, so I must ask." Once again, she nodded. "How often does he mention his alchemy?"

"Most of the time that's the subject. His life goal is to find out everything about it. He doesn't understand magic and he doesn't seem to trust it for healing."

"Hm. Interesting." There was another pause and he looked like he was thinking deeply. "Is there anyone else he's on good terms with?"

"I'm not quite sure," she answered. "But he's mentioned Potter, Granger, and Weasley a few times. I think he may communicate with his own age more easily than he does with us."

Albus nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Perhaps I should ask them?"

"Yes, it may be a good idea," she said as students began to get up and leave the Hall, many yawning in sleepiness.

"Well, now we shall leave each other for the warmth of our beds. Thank you very much and I will see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Albus," she said as they parted, him smiling at her before slipping away in the direction of his room. She sighed, for this was all very confusing. But if Albus needed to know more, she would get nosy herself and ask subtle questions.

Now if only it was truly that easy.

* * *

"Hey, Harry!" someone called from behind him, causing him to stop suddenly and turn around. Colin Creevy, his number one fan, almost ran into him, but not looking even the slightest bit annoyed. "How've you been, Harry?" he asked eagerly.

"I've been fine, Colin," he said with a sigh, not really in the mood for this. He was muddy from an absolutely horrible practice and had to repeatedly remind himself that Ron was his friend and not to blow up at him for letting his nerves get the best of him. "How about you?"

"Great, absolutely fantastic! I have something for you." He pulled out a scroll of paper from behind his back. Immediately, Harry recognized the handwriting.

"I've got to go," he said quickly, leaving before Colin could say anything else and running off to the common room to find Ron and Hermione, or at least one of them. They were sitting together for once, but not speaking, backs turned to each other instead. Why, oh why did they have to fight? "I have a letter from Dumbledore," he told them quietly.

"Is it another memory?" Hermione asked.

"Open it, Harry." Ron reached behind him and pulled up a chair for Harry to sit on just as a first year was about to sit down. He received a glare.

"_To Harry,_" he read. "_I would like you and possibly your friends to join me upstairs at eight o' clock to night. It's rather important. From, Dumbledore. P.S. I am still searching for your next lesson._"

"That's strange. What could he need with us?" Ron looked confused, as did Hermione, and Harry had a feeling he looked the same way.

"It's almost eight," Hermione added. "We should probably leave now." Harry nodded and the three stood up, hurrying away, Harry in the middle. He felt slight disappointed, thinking that maybe a trip off to Dumbledore's talk to each other again in their excitement. Well, maybe afterwards. There was always hope.

"Acid pops," he told the gargoyle. It retreated, leaving a staircase behind it.

"Come in," Dumbledore said even before they were able to knock. Awkwardly, Harry pushed open the door, wondering for the first time if they were in trouble for something. They hadn't done anything wrong lately, had they? Could this be about Katie and the neckless? No, that happened weeks ago, unless they were given an update on something. But why call them in now?

"Hello, Professor," they said politely as he summoned two extra chairs from Ron and Hermione to sit in.

"Good evening," he greeted. "I am terribly sorry to have taken you away from your homework and the knowledge you will reap from it, but I would appreciate if you were to answer a few questions. If you can't, don't worry. And I promise you that this will not take long."

Harry fidgeted slightly. Oh god, they really must have done something bad. But what? "Yes, Professor?" he said nervously. Hermione and Ron didn't know what to say, because their mouths were both tightly shut.

"It's about Professor Elric," he explained. Harry fidgeted again. Was it really a bad thing that they were on friendly terms with him? "Oh, please don't misunderstand me, it's nothing that could cause you trouble." He, Ron, and Hermione all that out small sighs of relief. "It's just that information on him is terribly scarce and, seeing as he's my staff, I must know as much about him as possible. And I have heard that you three are on good terms with him. Is there anything that you have learned from him besides his wonderful lessons?"

He glanced over to Ron and Hermione. What to say? He and Hermione had already agreed not to tell Dumbledore about the cut on the back of Ed's hand, and certain things wouldn't be helpful at all.

"Well, he said he didn't need an array because there were exceptions to everything," Hermione answered tentatively from his left.

"And he's always writing letters," Ron added.

"When someone mentioned transmuting humans, he seemed to get really upset," Harry said, remembering. "He said it was because he wasn't used to people talking when someone else was, but he's never been like that during other lessons."

"Transmuting humans...interesting. Has he mentioned the subject since then?"

They shook their heads. "No, nothing," Harry answered.

"Is there anything else?"

"During class once, he said that he picked up really hard types of alchemy really quickly," Hermione said. Harry tried to think of anything else, but all he could remember was the bleeding hand. "And besides that, we haven't learned much." Harry felt horrible, like they were betraying him or something. Well, technically they were.

Dumbledore sighed. "Thank you," he answered. "I am sorry to ask this of you, and I promise I won't ask you again. Goodnight, you three."

"Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Professor."

"See you soon, Professor."

"Oh, and one more thing," he said just as Ron's hand touching the doorknob. They turned around. Dumbledore was smiling slightly. "It's okay to befriend a teacher, when situations are appropriate. And I think, due to the closeness of age, that this is one of those times."

Harry grinned. "Thank you, sir," they all said (separately of course), and left.

* * *

Ed groaned slightly and tapped his pen to no obvious rhythm against his desk. He had to write his letter to Roy, but didn't exactly want to. Was there anyway out of this? By principle, he wasn't one to go blurting out his problems. In fact, he was one of those idiot who just didn't mention them at all, preferring to deal with them on his own. It worked, too, usually. The only time it didn't was when something was very that was right out there in the open, such as his automail getting shattered into a thousand pieces by a serial killer as he tried to defend his brother. Hiding that would be foolish (and impossible), so he never bothered. But this would be more complaining than anything else. But, then again, maybe it would fine to tell someone. And Roy wouldn't laugh, he wasn't that kind of person. Hopefully. It wasn't exactly stupid either. Though who would ever have expected the great Fullmetal Alchemist to be _homesick _of all things?

_Roy--_

_I hate that you figured that out because of my handwriting. I honestly do. You're evil, you know that? And I bet you enjoy every minute of it. And most of all, because of that, I can't lie to get my out of this, can I? Just don't laugh. _

_I want to go home. Everything about this place is wrong, from the magic to the lack of things to do. The only teacher I talk to is constantly asking if I'm okay, I speak more to those students I told you about than the staff, and I can't even finish a meal. I'm getting way too paranoid about being found out or something, so I always leave the meal times so early. And I'm treated like a kid, as in I'm always being called 'dearie' and other things like that. Yesterday I couldn't eat at all because I realized at the last second that my hand was bleeding so I had to keep it under the table. I must've dropped ten or more pounds since I got here. And, though they aren't saying it, I can tell that the other teachers have been talking about me. I don't mean in the simple gossip way either. It's like they're trying to piece together as much information about me as possible, making me even more worried. I miss Amestris. At least there I didn't need to watch everything I said because it was rare that I ever had to explain about what happened. And there it was warm, too. I think I miss that more than anything. _

_My cuts are reopening too. I don't know why and I can't figure it out. But I go through more bandages in two months that most normal people do in a year. That's why my hand was bleeding. It wasn't a new cut of anything, but one that just randomly split again. A student had to point it out to me. I'm falling apart. I thought I was done with this mess with the Gate, but it keeps coming back. And my weird obsession has come back, so I'm constantly redrawing the transmutation circle I used on Al and making it better. I can't even get a good night's sleep. _

_Okay, you happy? There, I told you the truth. Never thought in a million years that I'd do that. Sorry about all the complaining that just went it there, but here you go. You better not say I left anything out, because I didn't. So deal with it. _

_--Ed_

He read and reread his letter again and again, trying to make up reasons in his head not to send this. But no, that wouldn't work. He couldn't just send a letter to Havoc without also having to send one to Roy too. This sucked. It sucked so much. Mumbling to himself, he picked up an envelope, stuffed the letter inside and grabbed the other two. Off to the owlry as usual. He did this way to many times, but oh well, he supposed. It was better than nothing. And gave himself something to do. Ed found that he wasn't a big fan of lesson plans, and liked making it up as he went along to be much more enjoyable. But then again, he'd always been someone to make decisions on the spot. Actual in depth planning always went wrong. Improvising was much easier.

"Get back to your dormitory," he said to a first year he didn't know as he shuffled around, looking guiltier than should be necessary.

"_You're_ not a prefect," the kid pointed out, voice snotty. And, as much as he hated to admit it, the first house that came to mind was Slytherin. Stereotypes were such horrible things. "Why should I listen to you?"

"No, I'm a teacher." Shouldn't the boy recognize him from meal times? Not that eleven-year-olds really paid attention to anything that didn't interest them. "For Alchemy. What house are you in?"

"H-Hufflepuff!" he answered, voice squeaking.

"Five point from Hufflepuff for being out past curfew and insulting a teacher. Now get back to your common room." The first year ran off without another word.

"Stupid kid," he said to himself, shaking his head.

* * *

Okay, I'm sorry this is short, but the reasoning is written above.


End file.
